


First Impressions ~ The Marauders

by MissLacybee



Series: The Marauders [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon, Enemies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Love, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Snily, blackinnon, jily, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 52,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28476519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissLacybee/pseuds/MissLacybee
Summary: James Potter arrives at Hogwarts, adored by his parents and full of confidence. He could have anyone for a friend, yet he is instantly drawn to handsome, dark-haired Sirius Black - a half-rejected member of a notorious pure-blood family. Within minutes, the two boys become the closest of friends, roaming around the train, laughing and eating food together without a single care in the world.But outside of Hogwarts, a terrible storm is brewing. Lord Voldemort, the evilest Dark wizard to walk the Earth in decades, is rapidly gaining followers, mercilessly killing, maiming and destroying.With a battle looming on the horizon, James and Sirius must pull together their friendship, and explore the mysteries surrounding them - where is their friend Remus Lupin going? What is going on with their notoriously forgetful Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor? And how is James going to get Lily Evans to fall head-over-heels in love with him?
Relationships: Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, Marlene McKinnon/Other(s), Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon, Sirius Black/Other(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: The Marauders [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085774
Comments: 14
Kudos: 22





	1. The Hogwarts Express

**Author's Note:**

> It's been years since I last wrote fanfiction, but I hope you enjoy! Thank you to everyone who's commented or given your support so far - it really means a lot :) 
> 
> I began writing this series during lockdown 2020 because I finally decided that I was going to write the whole of the Marauders' lives, from start to finish, over ten books. I've never written a series before, but I've been wanting to do this for years, so fingers-crossed it will work. I'm trying to make this completely canon, covering the whole of the Marauders' years at Hogwarts and beyond (with plenty of wolfstar undertones and a whole lot of Jily) so, if I've missed anything, please let me know. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> ~ Lacy

**\- CHAPTER ONE-**

##  _The Hogwarts Express_

* * *

The steam from the great, scarlet steam engine swirled around the platform, turning the huddles of parents and students into wispy ghosts. Cats mewed in every direction, owls hooted in their cages and the air was thick with excitement. James Potter - untidy-haired and hazel-eyed - stood beside his parents, staring around at the station platform. He was here. He was finally going to Hogwarts and he couldn't stop the broad grin from stretching over his face.

"James," said his mother sternly, while her husband dropped James' trunk at their feet. "I don't want you playing tricks while you're on the train. This is the only time you'll have to make a good impression and, if I get a single owl telling me you've thrown a dungbomb at a professor or… or turned a student into a tadpole, I won't be very pleased with you."

James watched a couple of students in long, black robes hurrying past, chattering to each other as they went. "Mum," he said, turning back to his mother in exasperation. "Mum, I couldn't turn a student into a tadpole if I tried. Not even if you offered me a year's supply of sundaes from Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour."

Mrs Potter frowned. "It's just as well, or I'd never get another second of rest. Fleamont-" she glanced at Mr Potter "-are you sure we've got everything? James' toothbrush is in his trunk? He's got lots of pairs of pants?"

"Mum!" cried James. "The whole world doesn't need to know about my pants!"

Fleamont Potter sighed. "Yes, Euphemia, dear. I've packed James' pants."

"Thank goodness! I'd hate for James to get all the way to Scotland without realising he's missing something."

"Yeah," James grinned, "you wouldn't want me to wear robes with no pants, would you?"

Mrs Potter shuddered. "No. I wouldn't. Right, the train will be leaving in a couple of minutes, so you'd better get on board, dear." She bent down to kiss her only son on the cheek, her dark hair falling over his face. "Have a wonderful term. And _behave_ yourself!"

"Don't worry, mum. I always do," said James. He turned to his father. "Bye, dad!"

"Bye, James." Hugging his son briefly, Mr Potter stood back, next to his wife. "Do what your professors tell you to do and don't do anything silly. Your mother's quite right about making a good first impression - today could be the day that determines what the next seven years will be like."

A tiny flutter of nervousness rose in James' stomach, but he laughed all the same, running a hand through his already messy hair and adjusting his glasses. "So, no pressure."

His father looked at him. "You'll be fine, James." 

"I know I will," said James truthfully. "I'm _always_ fine. See you in the holidays!" He began to move away, lifting up his trunk with difficulty, grinning over his shoulder.

Mr and Mrs Potter waved, watching until their son was completely obscured by steam. Then Mr Potter began to look around the platform at the other parents, craning his head to see over the pointed black hats and the tight knots of people.

"Orion Black's over there," he said at last, his face twisted in disgust. "With his two sons. The eldest must be about James' age, by now."

Glancing in the direction her husband indicated, Euphemia shook her head. "If I was going to be prejudiced, I'd say that the whole family deserves a cell in Azkaban. Meddling with Dark Magic and muggle-baiting... Look at Orion now - lecturing his eldest son, a wand in his hand and a face like steel. I'd like to give him a piece of my mind!"

The two Potters watched. Orion Black and his wife, Walburga stood with their two sons a little way apart from the other families. The eldest son, a handsome boy with dark hair, glared at the floor while his father gave some kind of speech. The occasional word of it drifted through the steam.

"...Don't want you meddling with mudbloods… catch so much as a hint that you are a blood-traitor… worse than the Cruciatus Curse for you…"

Mrs Potter turned away. "Those poor boys… brought up in a family like that. No wonder half of them are evil."

"Evil is a strong word," said Fleamont grimly. "But now isn't the time to discuss it. James is on the Hogwarts Express and it'll be leaving in a minute. We'd better be on the lookout."

Right on cue, the Hogwarts Express gave a great whistle, exhaling steam ten feet into the air. Parents up and down the platform moved in a frenzy of cloaks and bags, ushering their children onto the train, giving them last-minute kisses. 

James, watching from the train window, stared at all the families. There was a greasy-haired boy with his hook-nosed mother, a red-haired girl and her horsey-faced sister, a woman in a vulture-topped hat, and a gaggle of students in emerald green robes who were laughing at something in a cage. His parents were waving at him from a corner, just beneath the sign that read 'Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters'. He waved back but was soon engulfed in steam as the train began to move, its pistons clunking beneath the compartments. He watched his parents until he could watch no more, then turned and moved down the corridor to peer in the nearest compartment. It was completely full. A group of fourth-year Hufflepuffs stopped giggling and stared at him.

"Erm…" James backed away, dragging his trunk, rumpling up his hair as he went. He'd better try a different compartment.

But the next compartment he tried was also full, this time with a trio of boys, who were playing Exploding Snap, and a girl with long blonde curls, who was using her wand to coil her hair even more. The boys glanced at James as he passed, but soon lost interest and returned to their activities. The girl flashed him a scornful look. James moved on again, checking the third, fourth and fifth compartments to no avail. At the sixth compartment, however, he stopped. It was empty.

"Phew!" He paused beside the door to take a rest and was about to slide it open when a voice behind him made him jump.

"Any room in there?" The voice was male, loud and confident with the tiniest hint of arrogance. 

James whirled around, dropping his trunk on his foot as he did so. " _Ouch_!"

The boy let out a bark-like laugh and pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. He was very good-looking, the kind of confident, relaxed good-looking that drew the attention of everyone in the vicinity.

"Sorry," he said, grinning as he folded his arms across his chest. "That must've hurt."

James, now massaging his foot, looked up at the boy. He grinned back, straightening up and pushing his glasses more securely onto his nose. "Yeah. It did."

The boy made a face, then stood on tiptoe to see into the compartment. "So. Is anyone in there? I've been looking for somewhere to sit for _ages_. I'm Sirius, by the way."

"Er... I'm James," James muttered, as the boy leaned over him to pull the compartment door open. "And, no. There's no one in there."

"Cool." Sirius side-stepped James' trunk, squeezed his own luggage through the gap between James and the wall, and kicked it through the door. "You're a first-year too?"

"Yeah." Feeling relieved that he'd met someone else in his situation, James followed Sirius into the compartment and shut the door behind him. "How long d'you reckon the journey is?"

Sirius crossed one leg over the other as he sat down, talking up half a side of the compartment with his lazy position. "Dunno. Haven't got a clue. Around eight hours, I'm guessing."

James groaned to himself. "Merlin's beard! That's ages!"

"Can't be that bad, or students would've died of boredom."

"They probably _do_ die of boredom. They probably keel over before the lunch trolley turns up and have their bodies chucked out the window."

Sirius snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised. Forget boredom, I'm going to die of hunger."

"Me too," said James, as his stomach let out a huge rumble. He watched the scenery flash past the window, taking in the deep green of the fields and hedges as they moved away from King's Cross Station. Above his head, the dim lanterns swung and clattered with the rhythm of the train. Sirius had taken out his wand and was running it between his fingers, twirling it expertly. Confidence oozed from every inch of him and James found himself liking him immensely. He'd been brought up well, it was clear to see, probably with the same kind of wealth as James. A trace of arrogance lingered about the corner of Sirius' mouth, but his grey eyes gleamed with mischievous delight.

For a couple more minutes, James watched Sirius playing with the wand. And then a thought struck him. "You weren't raised by muggles, were you?" he asked. Sirius had the distinct air of someone who'd been brought up by wizards.

A darker expression crossed Sirius' face. He shook his head. "No. I'm pureblood. Everyone in my family is magical. You?"

"Same. I couldn't wait to come to Hogwarts. I've been itching to get on this train for years."

"Me too," said Sirius, and James was surprised at the edge of bitterness that had crept into his tone. 

He couldn't help feeling as though Sirius' desire to escape to wizard-school ran deeper than his. "What d'you-?"

"My parents and I don't get on well," said Sirius flatly, before James had even finished the sentence.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," said Sirius. "It doesn't matter. I don't care, anyway." Turning to the window, he changed the subject. "What's your Quidditch team?"

James' eyes lit up. He _adored_ Quidditch, the popular wizarding sport involving fourteen players on broomsticks. "I'm a Wimborne Wasps fan."

Sirius gaped at him, all reserve gone as he uncrossed his legs. "You _what_? You like the _Wasps_? You can't like the Wasps! They suck!"

"Oh, yeah?" Grinning, James folded his arms in mock indignation. "Who do you support, then?"

"Puddlemere United. They're much better. They thrashed the pants off the Wasps last season - remember that epic bludger attack?"

"Of course I do!" cried James, with real indignation this time. He had, after all, obsessively followed every match on the Wizarding Wireless Network. "But the Wasps have a great team. That bludger thing was just a one-off slip-up. They're on form, usually."

Sirius snorted and pushed his hair off his face. It seemed to keep falling into his eyes, although Sirius clearly didn't care. "Yeah, _usually_. Not _always_ , like Puddlemere United are. The Wasps let in an absolute ton of goals, last season. _And_ the season before that."

"No, they didn't!" protested James. Then he glanced at Sirius's expression. He sighed, knowing too much about Quidditch to deny that the Wasps hadn't been at their best. "Okay, fine. They weren't so great last season-"

"-Or the one before," Sirius reminded him, grinning.

James found himself grinning too. "Fine. _Or_ the one before. But they're still pretty damn good, compared to Puddlemere's handful of novices."

" _Handful of novices_?" said Sirius, closing his eyes as if James had mortally offended him. "Excuse me? You can't call a superb Quidditch team a 'handful of novices'! It should be made illegal. It's disgusting! Puddlemere United are _way_ better than the Wimborne-blasted-Wasps!"

"They are not!"

"They _are_!" cried Sirius, standing up and jumping up and down. He pretended to sing. " _Beat back those bludgers, boys, and chuck that Quaffle here_!"

"Argh! My ears!" laughed James, ducking his head and covering his eardrums. "Whatever. Puddlemere United sucks. End of story."

"It is _not_ 'end of story'"

"Um, yes. It is. It is one hundred per-cent the _end of the story_."

"Fine," said Sirius, but he was grinning. "If you want to be childish-" He sat down and bent over his trunk, unfastening the lid and extracting his school robes from underneath a pile of spellbooks.

James grinned back at him and bent over his own trunk. "I'm not childish!" He pulled his robes, just as Sirius had done, from the heap of school things. "Time to change, d'you reckon?"

"Might as well. We've got a good couple of hours to kill before we get there."

James pulled his jumper over his head and lobbed it unceremoniously at the untidy mass of the trunk.

Sirius followed suit, tugging on his brand-new robes with a look of restrained delight. He felt like a student. A squeaky-clean, goody-two-shoes, first-year student. Well, he wasn't going to be good for much longer. Sirius was going to play as many pranks as he could over the next seven years, to make up for all the time he'd spent under the restraint of the 'Noble House of Black'.

He pulled out his wand. "Want to explore the rest of the train?" he asked James, who was now closing the lid of his trunk.

James looked up, surprised. Then his face broke into an expression of mischievous wonder. "You bet! We can find out who the other first-years are..."

"...And maybe play some tricks on the students. The _older_ students..."

James smirked. "The ones that think they know better..."

"...The ones that think they're so cool..."

"...But we know they're not," James finished. "C'mon."

Sirius rolled up the sleeves of his school robes. "Where's your wand? It might be useful, even if we don't know much magic yet."

Standing up, James extracted his wand from his pocket and reached over to slide the compartment door open. "Where first?"

Sirius thought about it. "I know!" he said, leaping up too and leading the way out of the compartment. "We can spy on the prefects' carriage. I bet they think they're high-and-mighty."

"Yeah, I bet they do." James followed Sirius out into the corridor. "What are we going to do when we get there? Have you got any dungbombs?"

Sirius sighed. "No. My parents would kill me if I even _tried_ to bring them. You?"

"Yeah, I've got a couple. I had to smuggle them out under my invisibility cloak, though... And I was kind of saving them for when we got to Hogwarts."

An expression of awe crossed Sirius' face. "Hang on, you've got an _invisibility cloak_?" he asked, gaping at James.

James grimaced. "Uh... Well, _kind of_. It's my dad's, but it'll be mine when he dies. I wasn't really meant to take it to Hogwarts, but..." He grinned sheepishly. "I mean, it's an invisibility cloak, for Merlin's sake! How could I _not_ take it? Anyway, dad probably won't notice and, even if he does, he won't be getting it back."

"Wow..." The impressed smile did not fade from Sirius' features. "Wow, that's cool! But never mind about the dungbombs. We'll just spy on the prefects as we are."

"Fair enough," said James, running one hand through his already-messy hair. "Now, let's get going or we won't be back in time for the lunch trolley. I don't want to miss it. I've heard the pumpkin pasties are worth killing for."

The two boys set off down the corridor. 

**A/N: Feel free to follow me on[Tumblr](https://its-mooony.tumblr.com/) for more Marauder/Harry Potter-related stuff :) Thanks for reading! **


	2. Friends, Prefects and a Couple of Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On their way to the prefects' carriage, James and Sirius run into Vivian Roberts, a Ravenclaw prefect. And they decide to have some fun. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took the dialogue between Lily, Snape, James and Sirius from 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' :)

**\- CHAPTER TWO -**

##  _Friends, Prefects and a Couple of Enemies_

* * *

Glancing left and right as they went, James and Sirius moved along the train, occasionally pausing to peer into compartments as they passed. James spotted the group of giggling Hufflepuffs again and glanced at the group playing Exploding Snap. But neither Sirius nor he stopped long enough to pay the students much attention. A little further up the corridor, they passed a pair of Slytherin sixth-years who were smirking at a small, mousey boy with a pointed nose. The boy was obviously a first-year and, as they drew closer, James nudged Sirius in the ribs.

"Look. Who's he?"

Sirius' dark head whipped around. "Who?" he whispered, his eyes darting around the corridor.

" _There_." James pointed in the direction of the small boy. "That first-year. The one with the Slytherins. What do you think he's doing?"

Squinting in the direction James was pointing, Sirius studied the boy's face. His forehead creased. He'd never seen the boy before, but the Slytherins were clearly taunting him. Sirius recognised the anguished movements of the boy's hands, the way he looked anywhere except up at his tormentors.

"Looks like he's in a state," Sirius said.

"What do we do?" James asked.

Sirius pondered the question. His wand felt heavy in his pockets. They should probably help the boy...

"What are you two doing?" A sharp voice echoed around their section of the carriage. "You shouldn't be blocking up the corridors."

James and Sirius turned. The girl who had spoken was very tall and large bronze 'P' sat on a badge emblazoned with the Ravenclaw crest.

James felt his face burn. "Er... We were... We were just..."

The prefect raised one eyebrow and looked down at them both, her dark eyes sceptical. "First-years shouldn't be getting up to mischief."

Sirius spoke up. "Mischief?" he asked. "We weren't getting up to mischief. Why would first-years like us be involved in _mischief_ , for Merlin's sake?"

The girl opened her mouth once to argue, closed it again and stared at Sirius with her eyes wide.

Sirius threw her a flirtatious smirk, pushing his hair back for the thousandth time that morning. "I'm Sirius. What's your name?"

James had to hand it to him, Sirius was a genius.

The prefect was completely bewildered. She gaped at Sirius for a good thirty seconds (James counted), apparently unable to believe what she was seeing. Then her eyes narrowed. "Vivian Roberts, but I don't like your attitude." 

"Oh, _sorry_ ," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "I was only trying to be nice." 

"Nice? You call that sort of behaviour ' _nice'_?" 

"Erm, yeah," said Sirius. "I do." 

Vivian's mouth twisted with dislike. "Well, I don't. Now get back in your own compartment and leave me in peace." 

James felt Sirius' hand tugging on the back of his robes and obeyed its pressure, letting his friend drag him down the corridor. 

"Okey-dokey." Sirius flashed her another grin, still backing away. "Bye! Nice talking to you, Vivian! You have very nice hair, by the way." 

Vivian scowled. "Just get out of the way. I'm busy." 

"Bye, then!" 

James snorted. "Yeah, see you." He only lasted about four seconds before collapsing into giggles at the sight of Vivian's face. 

Sirius lasted a little while longer, stumbling past the compartments, trying to smother his snorts of laughter. They ran together, glancing over their shoulder to check that Vivian wasn't following them. When they reached their own compartment, James pulled open the door and collapsed onto his seat.

Sirius slumped down next to him, shaking with mirth. "Wow, she was grumpy!"

James groaned. "I can't believe you tried to flirt with her! You're absolutely hopeless. And kind of brilliant."

Sirius looked very pleased with himself. He shook his head a couple of times, steadied his own laughter and leaned back with his head against the wall. "Cheers, mate. But did you see her face?" 

"Oh, Merlin, I did! Her mouth went so thin that I thought it had disappeared. And you told her she had nice hair." Unable to control himself, he started to laugh again. "Nice - blimming - _hair_!" 

Sirius let out a roar of appreciative laughter. "I hope we can do that again. Pity we didn't get to rescue that boy, though. Or spy on the rest of the prefects... But maybe someone else will take on those Slytherins for us." 

"Yeah," said James, still grinning as he wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I hope we meet that prefect again. She's hilarious." 

The compartment door slid open and a girl with long red hair came in. Her green eyes were teary and pink, and she sniffed as she took a seat opposite them, her face turned to the window, not even glancing at the two boys.

"What's up with her?" James murmured to Sirius, as the girl gave a small hiccough and dissolved once more into tears. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Dunno. Maybe her boyfriend ditched her."

"D'you think she has a boyfriend?" As miserable as the red-haired girl was, he couldn't help noticing that she was extremely pretty. _Maybe she did have a boyfriend... Maybe they should comfort her... Maybe they should_ -

The compartment door slid open again, and both James and Sirius turned around. The girl by the window, however, didn't. Her blotchy face was almost touching the glass and James could see her almond-shaped eyes reflected in the rain-washed window.

A boy with overlong, greasy black hair and a hooked nose entered the compartment. Although he was young, his shoulders looked ever so slightly hunched and his skin was sallow. He had already changed into his school robes.

James and Sirius exchanged glances.

Spotting the girl in the corner, the boy hurried over to her and sat down in the last empty seat. He evidently knew her, for she glanced up at him as he sat down, before turning back to the window.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said, her voice tight and constricted.

The boy looked surprised. "Why not?"

The girl hiccoughed again. "Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

James, who hadn't particularly been listening before, felt his ears straining. _Dumbledore?_ This girl knew _Dumbledore_?

The boy beside the crying girl gave a small but unmissable shrug. "So what?"

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a-" Catching himself just in time, the boy seemed to realise that what he'd been about to say was tactless. Luckily for him, however, the girl was now too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed to hear him. "But this is it. We're off to Hogwarts!"

James noticed that the boy seemed just as eager as he and Sirius were at the thought of going to the school.

The girl, though her eyes were still red, failed to repress a small smile and the boy, encouraged by the flicker of light, pressed on.

"You'd better be in Slytherin."

James could not contain himself. He looked around at the pair of them, contempt burning in his stomach. "Slytherin? Who wants to be in Slytherin?" He turned and appealed to Sirius. "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

But Sirius didn't smile. "My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said dully.

James was very surprised by this, but he tried to make light of the situation. "Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!"

A hopeful grin spread across Sirius' face. "Maybe I'll break the tradition," he said. "Where're you heading, if you've got the choice?"

As though lifting an invisible sword, James held his arms above his head. "' _Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart_.' Like my dad."

The boy next to the crying girl made a small, disdainful noise and a bubble of anger rose in James' throat.

"Got a problem with that?"

The boy sneered, his lip curling. "No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

Sirius' voice cut across him. "Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"

James burst out laughing.

The girl, her green eyes narrowed, sat up very straight, and glared at James and Sirius with obvious dislike. She got to her feet and the boy followed suit. "Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment."

Sirius nudged James and together they imitated the loftiness of her voice. "Ooooooh..."

James grinned and stuck out his leg to trip the boy as he passed. "See ya, Snivellus!"

The compartment door slammed shut before it was opened again by a plump little witch, pushing the food trolley. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

Sirius leapt to his feet, his stomach growling. "You bet! Chocolate frogs, James? Pumpkin pasties? Cauldron cakes?"

Pulling out his money-bag, which was even more full than usual as James' parents had paid him to stop him bringing his broomstick to school, James handed Sirius a couple of Galleons. "I'll have whatever. I'm not too fussy. Let's just get some of everything."

Sirius grinned. "Sounds good to me," he said, turning to the witch. "We'll take four pumpkin pasties, twenty chocolate frogs, a couple of cauldron cakes..."

The witch began to pile the food on an empty patch of seat between them.

*** 

"Merlin! I'm stuffed," groaned James, a couple of hours later, putting one protective hand over his stomach and abandoning the remains of his cauldron cake.

"Chuck us another frog, would you?" replied Sirius, grinning again. He held out his hand to James and caught the chocolate frog as James threw it to him. He ripped off the wrapper and bit off the frog's head. "Mmmm... Where would we be without chocolate?"

"Er, not feeling sick?" said James, who was seriously wishing he hadn't eaten the last pumpkin pasty.

"How can you be feeling sick? You ate less than me!"

James shrugged. "You must've been _starving_."

"Yeah, I was," Sirius said, swallowing his mouthful of frog and stuffing the rest into his mouth. He chewed, letting the warmth of the chocolate seep over his tongue.

They were almost in darkness now, the only light coming from the lamps that flickered overhead. The buzz of distant chatter could be heard from neighbouring compartments, although no one since the lunch trolley witch had entered the boys' carriage.

"Do you think we're nearly there?" asked James, looking out of the drizzle-washed window.

"Probably," said Sirius, frowning slightly. He rubbed some condensation off a patch of glass to peer out at the scenery. "Can't see much, though, can you?"

This was certainly true. All James could see were the dull shapes of hedges as they passed through the gloom. He squinted in the direction they were heading, hoping for some sign that they were arriving...

"Hang on..." he said, as something bobbed in the distance. "There's something up ahead. Could be a lantern..."

The train gave a small judder.

Sirius craned his neck to see what James was looking at. "We're slowing down," he said, brushing crumbs off his robes. "Is that Hogsmeade Station?"

"It is!" cried James, forgetting his sickness entirely as the platform glided towards them. He leapt to his feet. "It _is_ Hogsmeade Station! We're here! We're at Hogwarts!"

Underneath them, the wheels of the scarlet steam engine ground to a halt. There was a great scrabbling as the students began to collect their belongings.

Sirius got up too and slid the last remaining chocolate frog into his pocket. Neither of the boys bothered with their trunks; they would be taken up to the castle once everyone had left.

"Come on!" James cried. Quivering with excitement, he hurried to the door and opened it. James stepped out into the corridor, and he and Sirius joined the throng of students leaving the train.

As they emerged onto the platform, a chill wind whipped rain into their faces. A group of burly seventh-years barged them out of the way.

Unsure where to go or what to do, James glanced at Sirius, who was scanning the platform with a look of concentration on his face.

"Where do we-?" James began, but Sirius cut across him.

"Look, there! Directly in front. There's a huge man... Can you see him?"

Wondering what on Earth this had to do with them being lost, James turned in the direction Sirius had suggested.

The man Sirius has been looking at was not hard to miss. He really was _huge_ , his ruddy face half-hidden by a tangled mass of beard. His hands were each the size of dustbin lids, and he was probably taller than James and Sirius put together. A lantern swung in his right hand and his great voice carried across the crowded platform: "Firs'-years over here! Firs'-years!"

"I think we follow him," said Sirius, relieved they had found someone who knew what they should be doing.

"Yeah, c'mon."

They made their way, with great difficulty, through the jostling students, and found themselves among a small knot of people who looked just as nervous as they were.

"All righ', then?" boomed the huge man, once James and Sirius had appeared. He peered over the heads of the students to see into the crowd. "Reckon that's the last o' yeh?"

None of the first-years said anything. Judging by the looks on their faces, they were all either too excited or too terrified to speak. James couldn't blame them. Glancing around, his eyes found hook-nosed Severus and the red-haired girl. The girl had stopped crying now and she was talking to the boy with a rapt, eager expression on her face. James felt a twinge of something within his stomach. He turned away.

The small, mousey boy with the pointed nose - the boy he'd seen being tormented by the Slytherins - stood to their left. He was chewing his fingernails and kept stealing nervous glances at the people nearest to him. His companion was a tall, brown-haired boy with a pale face and... Was that a _scar_ on his cheekbone?

The huge man spoke again. "Righ'. That'll be the lot o' yeh. Let's get going, then." He set off at a stride, leaving the others jogging to catch up with him.

James and Sirius followed the group, as they hurried down a path that led from the station.

The man strode up ahead, the path growing steeper as it wound up to the castle. "Jus' a bit further. Yeh'll see a glimpse o' Hogwarts itself in a sec."

They turned a corner. A couple of people - including the tall, brown-haired boy - let out small gasps. A glistening lake lay in front of them, its surface dappled by moonlight. Hogwarts castle lay on the mountain of rock on the other side; huge, candlelit and mysterious. James felt as though all the breath had been knocked out of him. _It was beautiful. Utterly beautiful._

Sirius, however, was looking doubtfully at the lake. "How are we going to get across?" he whispered.

The mousey boy groaned with fright. "We have to swim!" he gasped, seizing the arm of the boy beside him and hugging it to his chest. "We're going to drown! There's a giant squid in there, you know, and- and- It's going to eat us!"

The boy whose arm was being strangled patiently extracted it from his companion's grasp. "It won't eat us, Peter," he said firmly. "And we're not going to swim."

"H-How do you know?" whispered the mousey boy, scuffing his toes on the rocky ground.

Sirius fought the urge to smirk.

The tall, pale boy pointed to the edge of the lake. "Because there are boats," he said simply.

All the first-years looked.

At the edge of the lake, just as the boy had said, a fleet of small wooden boats floated, bumping against the shore. The huge man was busy steadying one of the boats enough to be able to climb into it; it looked as though it would sink under his weight. As he realised the others were staring at him, however, he stopped what he was doing to talk to them. "Is everyone here?"

A couple of people nodded.

"Good," he said vaguely. "Righ', then. Now that yeh're all here, I've got a few things to tell yeh. Firs' o' all, my name's Hagrid - Rubeus Hagrid - an' I'm Keeper o' the Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. The second thing is that we're goin' across the lake, so yeh'll be wanting ter get into one o' them." He waved a huge hand at the little fleet of boats behind him. "No more than four ter a boat."

The first-years all moved forwards. Sirius grabbed James' elbow to stop him being pushed aside and led the way into the nearest boat. The mousey boy called Peter, along with his slightly-scarred companion, followed them into it. Hagrid got into the largest boat and sat down, although it wobbled alarmingly underneath him, and waited for everyone else to be seated.

Sirius looked around him at the still and silent water. The boats had no oars. How on Earth were they going to move?

As if in answer, the boats gave a shiver and jerked into life, pulling away from the bank all on their own. Several of the first-years gasped, alarmed that the boats could move magically. But the gentle rock of them soon lulled everyone into silence. They glided through the water, floating over the dancing pools of light reflected in the lake's surface. It was very pretty, even though the drizzle had only just stopped.

James was just wondering whether they would see the Giant Squid, when Hagrid called out from his boat up ahead. "Duck!"

The first-years all bent their heads as they passed under a rocky outlet in the side of a cliff, half-hidden by ivy, and emerged into a dark tunnel. James could no longer see anything and the small, mousey boy gave a squeak of terror.

The brown-haired, pale boy with the scar said, "Shh, Peter. It's okay. Just darkness." His voice was slightly hoarse.

Something clunked underneath them as the wooden boats collided with a rocky bank. Hagrid climbed out of his boat. Slipping and sliding in the underground tunnel, the first-years followed, moving through the dark towards the only source of light: a fiery torch that illuminated a door. Once everyone was gathered around him, Hagrid knocked thrice on the door's surface and the first-years held their breath. The noise echoed around the cavern for a couple of moments before the silence enclosed around them.

They waited... And waited... And, at long last, the door opened.


	3. The Hogwarts Sorting Hat

**\- CHAPTER THREE -**

##  _The Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

* * *

Although the witch standing in the doorway was tall, she was positively dwarfed by Hagrid. She had black hair twisted into a tight bun, square spectacles and a stern expression.

James could tell that angering this woman would be a very bad idea.

Hagrid waved a hand at the cowering first-years. "I've got 'em all, Professor McGonagall," he said.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she said with a curt nod. "You may return to the feast. I will lead them from here." Her eyes swept over them all, taking in the mousey boy's gnawed fingernails and James' messy black hair.

James tried and failed to smarten himself up a bit, tugging a hand through his hair. But his fingers met a series of knots and he desisted. _Oh, well. It didn't matter..._ He liked having messy hair, anyway.

"Righ' yeh are, Professor," said Hagrid. He inclined his head towards Professor McGonagall, then turned and strode away, whistling to himself as he went. They heard his large feet moving up the path they'd come, loud on the damp rock. There was a splash as Hagrid climbed back into one of the boats… Then he was gone.

Professor McGonagall looked again at their terrified faces. "Come with me," she said curtly, leading them through the door, into what seemed to be a huge entrance hall.

The first-years all stared. Even Sirius, who'd known grandeur all his life, couldn't help but be amazed. The hall was massive, with marble slabs and marble staircases, marble statues on marble busts... Well, there was a _lot_ of marble.

Professor McGonagall led them into a small chamber at the side of the hall. As they ground to a halt, a couple of the students bumped into each other and stumbled. Professor McGonagall gave them a stern look. "I am about to alert the rest of the school," she told them. "Please remain here until I come and fetch you, when you will be sorted into your school houses." She left and there was an instant outbreak of chattering.

"How d'you think they sort us?" asked James anxiously, turning to Sirius. Somehow, in all Fleamont Potter's stories, James' father had never got round to telling him that.

Sirius shrugged. "My cousin Bellatrix said there was some sort of hat, I think."

"What do you have to do?"

"Probably wear it... It can't be too hard."

A wave of relief washed over James. He'd been imagining scenes in which he'd tried and failed to magic something from the hat. "I hope you're right."

The doors to the chamber opened and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was back.

"Get into a line, please. The Sorting ceremony is about to start." Everyone scrambled into position as Professor McGonagall continued, "When I call your name from the register, you will step forwards and try on the Sorting Hat. The hat will tell you which house you ought to be in... Then you will go and sit with your house. The houses' names are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin."

"So it's not too hard, after all," Sirius murmured as Professor McGonagall led them out of the chamber, through the Entrance Hall and into another room. "Pity it's in front of the whole school, though."

But James had stopped listening. They had passed through the doors of the Great Hall and found themselves looking down upon hundreds and hundreds of faces. Candles, suspended in mid-air, illuminated the fear on all of the first-years' faces. The mousey boy's knees were trembling and his scarred companion seemed to be trying to reassure him, although his own hands were quaking badly.

The rumble of talk in the hall from the other students trailed off into expectant silence. James' eyes fell on a very scruffy hat, which sat on a stool. He stared at it for a long moment. Then, without any warning, a mouth-like rip in the hat opened and, to the first-years' amazement, the hat began to sing. 

_If you'd been here when I was new, though it was long ago,_

_You would have seen a group of friends whose bonds could only grow._

_You would be hard-pushed anywhere to find a group so strong,_

_And thus it hurts to tell you how the friendship went so wrong._

_First of all was Gryffindor, whose courage was his power._

_Slytherin came slyly next, with shrewdness by the hour._

_Fair Hufflepuff was just and true, her love could not be measured._

_And last of all came Ravenclaw; great wit was what she treasured._

_These friends shared wishes, hopes and dreams, they hatched their famous plan,_

_To form a school, to teach the young - here, Hogwarts school began._

_Good Gryffindor preferred just those with pluck akin to his,_

_While Slytherin took only ones, for whom ambition fizzed._

_Hufflepuff chose to take them all, no matter what their background,_

_And Ravenclaw liked best to teach the ones with minds profound._

_For many years, our founders four lived and taught in peace,_

_Until the day they lost a friend, for Slytherin's patience ceased._

_He'd fallen out with Gryffindor, he left the castle then,_

_And never since has Hogwarts school been quite the same bright gem._

_When founders died, they left me here, to take their place and sort you,_

_So put me on, don't be afraid, you'll know the house to go to._

_My time has gone now for the year, I hope to be back soon._

_I give my luck to new students and hope they do not swoon!_

The hat, once it had finished the song, fell silent again. A babble of laughter broke out at the last line, although none of the first-years joined in. They were all too busy hoping the hat's words were true, that they _wouldn't_ swoon and that they would get through this humiliation alive.

James was starting to feel ill again. The pumpkin pasty he'd forced down on the train was churning horribly in his stomach. Why had he eaten all that food? _Why_?

Professor McGonagall pulled out a long roll of parchment and opened it with her wand. She glanced up and down what appeared to be a list of names and pushed her spectacles further up her nose.

James' sick feeling increased by a million.

A couple of places away, the mousey boy's knees were shaking so much that he was having difficulty standing. His companion, meanwhile, was whiter than a sheet.

"Adams, Jacob!"

A long, lanky boy jumped a foot in the air, then scurried forwards and sat on the stool. He placed the Sorting Hat over his head, where it sunk to his shoulders, obscuring his head from view. There was a moment's pause and then the hat bellowed-

"Ravenclaw!"

The students on the Ravenclaw table stood up to cheer as Jacob Adams, leaving the hat on the stool, went to sit with them.

"Orson, Avery!"

Avery - a tall, sneering boy with a silver ring on his first finger - marched to the stool and sat down. Before the hat even touched his head, it cried "Slytherin!" and the Slytherin table erupted in cheers and stamps. Avery swaggered off to join them.

"Black, Sirius!"

Sirius, not looking at anybody, walked forwards to sit on the stool. His legs felt like lead and he knew that, somewhere at the Slytherin table, half his family was watching him.

James' stomach twisted. _Black? Black?_ Sirius was a _Black_? Sirius, who James had been laughing with only a few minutes ago, who James had liked from the start, who he had tacked to and admired, was a _Black_? The Blacks were one of the Darkest families the wizarding world had ever seen. They were muggle-haters who tortured people for fun. And his friend was related to them? No wonder Sirius had said his whole family had been in Slytherin!

But just as James was working out how Sirius could have seemed so nice, there was an eruption of red and gold from the other side of the Hall, from the table that was about as far from Slytherin as you could get. He looked up just in time to see Sirius walking away to the Gryffindor table, his face white with shock, while the Slytherins muttered to themselves and glared.

His stomach untwisted itself so quickly that he felt light-headed. Sirius was in Gryffindor! _Gryffindor_! He wasn't like his family, he wasn't evil, he wasn't-

But James had no more time to celebrate. Professor McGonagall was calling names again. He watched as more students were sorted, hardly bothering to pay attention until…

"Evans, Lily!" The red-haired girl had been called.

Slowly but surely, she moved to the stool and put the hat on her head.

"Gryffindor!"

Lily Evans went and sat down beside Sirius, although - as soon as she recognised him from the train - she turned her back on him.

"Fortescue, Alice!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Gudgeon, Davey!"

The hat paused. "Hufflepuff!"

The Hufflepuff table broke into cheers.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Longbottom, Frank!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Lupin, Remus!"

Here, James looked up again. The friend of the mousey boy was trembling from head to foot as he took his turn on the stool.

There was a slightly longer wait than before. "Gryffindor!" shouted the hat and Remus Lupin, looking very relieved, joined Lily, Frank Longbottom and Sirius at the Gryffindor table.

The next two people to be Sorted were both Hufflepuffs, the one after that was a Ravenclaw... The next Gryffindor was "Macdonald, Mary!", closely followed by "McKinnon, Marlene!". A boy named Mulciber was put in Slytherin...

Then the mousey boy himself was called. "Pettigrew, Peter!"

Poor Peter Pettigrew looked even more ill than James felt. He stumbled forwards, picked up the hat, sat down on the stool and let the fabric fall over his eyes.

There was silence. James could hear his own heart pounding in his chest. It would be his turn soon… What if he wasn't in Gryffindor? What if he was put somewhere else? He supposed Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… or even Hufflepuff. But what if the hat put him in Slytherin?

People were starting to look at the mousey boy now. Beads of sweat had broken out on his forehead and still the hat was motionless. Three minutes passed… then four… then five… 

"Gryffindor!" bellowed the hat and Peter fell off the stool and went to sit down opposite Sirius.

Two Ravenclaw girls were sorted into Ravenclaw and James began to tremble. It would be his turn any minute… They must be running out of 'P's by now. Surely, it couldn't be much longer?

"Potter, James!"

Feeling like his legs had fallen off, James stepped out of line and made his way to the stool. As he sat down, he caught a brief glimpse of Sirius giving him a thumbs-up before the hat slipped over his eyes. James swallowed. This was it.

But the hat's decision took nowhere near as long as he expected. "Gryffindor!" it cried and James pulled off the hat.

Everything was a blur. Sirius was cheering him next to Lily Evans, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin were opposite, and James went to sit with them feeling elated. He'd done it! He was in Gryffindor!

"Nice one, mate!" yelled Sirius, clapping James on the back as he sat down.

"Thanks," said James, secretly glad it was over. "You too. I didn't know you were related to the Blacks."

Sirius' face hardened. "I'm not just related to them, either. I _am_ a Black. And do you mind not talking about it? Do you think I'm proud of having relatives like that?"

"Sorry," said James truthfully, glancing over at the Slytherin table. "I just didn't know." 

"You don't have to be ashamed, you know," interjected Remus Lupin quietly. His eyes, which looked strangely tired, were fixed on Sirius.

Sirius looked surprised. "I- Yeah. Yeah, I guess. I mean, I know, but..." He trailed off.

"One of Dumbledore's most famous sayings is 'It matters not what someone is born, but who they grow to be'. And he's right. Who cares if you're a Black? You're decent, aren't you?"

James noticed that Sirius looked distinctly happier.

"Yeah. Fair point... You're right. It really doesn't matter. I'm Sirius, by the way. And this is James."

"Hi," said James, not shy in the slightest.

Remus Lupin, on the other hand, looked _very_ shy. "Er... Hi. Hello. My name's Remus."

The mousey boy beside him spoke up. "I'm Peter," he squeaked. "Peter Pettigrew."

"Well, nice to meet you, Remus," James grinned. "You too, Peter. I guess we all survived the Sorting."

"I almost didn't," said Remus seriously, fiddling with a stray strand of brown hair. "I thought I was going to die from embarrassment."

Sirius laughed. "Me too, actually. But I didn't. Good, huh?"

"Yeah, imagine if all the first-years just keeled over when Professor McGonagall called their names..." James looked thoughtfully at the last few students left to be sorted.

Remus, Sirius and Peter chuckled.

"They'd have to have a huge joint funeral!" said Remus, as Professor McGonagall called another name.

"Snape, Severus!"

"Hey, look!" said Sirius suddenly, turning to watch the boy be sorted. "It's the greasy-haired boy who was with Lily Evans. The Slytherin-lover."

James followed Sirius' gaze. "Ha! Look at him, the twitchy little _slimeball_ -"

Peter cast a worried look at Lily, who was still ignoring them. "Shh!"

"Don't worry, Peter, she won't notice," Sirius told him. "She's too busy watching _Snivellus_ Snape."

"Isn't his name 'Severus' Snape?" asked Peter, but James and Sirius ignored him.

"Slytherin!" cried the Sorting Hat and Lily gave a tiny, disappointed sigh.

"No surprises there," muttered James, as Snape sat with the Slytherins. "Look, they're all cheering."

"Lucius Malfoy's there..." said Sirius, also watching the Slytherin table. "He's a prefect and everything. And then there's my dear cousin, Narcissa - who's also a prefect - and her gang of Slytherin cronies." 

"My father knows Lucius Malfoy's dad, Abraxas," piped up Remus. "He works at the Ministry."

"Who? Your dad?" asked James, now slightly distracted by Lily Evans' hair. She really was very pretty...

"Yes," said Remus. "He works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Malfoy's dad works for the Ministry too."

"Oh, really?" Sirius lifted one eyebrow. "I bet the Malfoys would consider it beneath them to work anywhere else."

"My dad makes hair-care potions," said James, who had managed to tear his eyes away from Lily.

"That's cool," said Remus, genuinely interested. "Potions has never really been a strength in my family. My father's speciality is Defence Against the Dark Arts. You know, boggarts and hinkypunks and all that."

"My parents work for the Ministry, too," Peter chimed in, as the Sorting finally finished. "They work in the Department of-"

But everyone around them had called silent. The prodigious headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had stood up to speak.


	4. Up to Gryffindor Tower

_**\- CHAPTER FOUR -** _

## Up to Gryffindor Tower

* * *

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, his silver beard and half-moon spectacles gleaming in the candlelight. "However, your stomachs are waiting to be fed and I mustn't talk for now. All I will say is... dig in!"

There was a collective gasp among the first-years. All around them, the empty gold platters had suddenly filled with food. Pork chops were piled high on plates, carrots steamed in their tureens... There were potatoes of every description: boiled, fried, mashed, baked... Huge bowls of peas and other kinds of vegetable lay on the tables every couple of feet, while a wide array of pies sat waiting to be eaten. None of the first-years had ever seen so much food, not even James, whose mother's cooking was excellent.

"Food!" cried Sirius, diving on a plate of chicken drumsticks and piling four onto his plate.

"Surely you can't be hungry again?" asked James, who felt much better now that his nerves had passed. "You ate more than a plateful of food on the train."

"Nah, it was _two_ platefuls," grinned Sirius, now shovelling peas and potatoes onto his plate. "And I'm always up for more food."

Remus, meanwhile, was busy with the parsnips. "Could you pass the gravy boat, Peter?" he asked, setting down the parsnip tureen and gesturing at the gravy.

Peter stopped spooning pie onto his plate and reached over to help, spilling some gravy on the table in the process.

"Thanks," said Remus gratefully, pouring some onto his potatoes before offering the boat to James.

"Nah, I've already got some, Remus. Thanks, though." James picked up his knife and fork, and began on his steak-and-kidney pie. If he hadn't known better, he'd have thought his mother made it.

The tide of talk soon turned to their families.

"Well, I'm pureblood, obviously," Sirius was saying to the others. "My family hate blood-traitors. And half-bloods. _And_ muggles..." he added, in a bored voice. "And muggle _borns_. Oh, and half-breeds."

Remus choked on his Yorkshire pudding. Peter thumped him on the back.

"W-wow," Remus gasped, his eyes streaming as he coughed. There was a funny metal taste in his mouth that had nothing to do with the Yorkshire pudding. "Your family hates a- a lot of people."

"Yeah," said Sirius, shrugging, spooning peas into his mouth and looking unconcerned. "They hate most people. Bit stupid, really."

"I'm pureblood, too," said James. "Most of my ancestors have been wizards. But the Potters aren't concerned about muggles and stuff. I mean, half-breeds are obviously a bit dangerous, but everyone else is fine."

"Yeah, but everyone's cautious about half-breeds, aren't they?" said Sirius, nodding. "Like there are vampires and hags and werewolves and stuff... And they're all kind of... well... vicious."

Remus visibly flinched and Sirius turned to him in concern.

"Are you okay, Remus?"

"What? Um... Yeah. Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just... burned my tongue, that's all," lied Remus, hoping very much that his face wasn't red. "So... What about you, Peter? Are you half-blood or pureblood or what?"

"I'm pureblood," said Peter, taking a gulp from his goblet of pumpkin juice, then wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "The same as James and Sirius."

"Looks like I'm the only half-blood, then," said Remus cheerfully, glad to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters. "My mother's a muggle. She's Welsh. Dad met her in a forest in Wales. Over a boggart, actually."

James looked up mid-way through a mouthful of pastry. "What? Really? Your parents met because of a boggart?"

"Yep. My mother saw this scary man in the woods and screamed, and my dad heard her from nearby. He ran to her aid, whipped out his wand and turned the boggart - that's what the man really was - into a field mushroom. He hates mushrooms..."

"What happened then?" asked Sirius, finishing the last chicken leg and laying the bare bone on his plate. "She was a muggle, right? So if he did magic in front of her..."

"She didn't see," Remus assured them hastily. "But she knew my father had somehow made the man go away. So she told him he was brave and let him take her home-"

James smirked at Sirius. "Take her home. Ooooh!"

"- _To look after her_ ," finished Remus, going slightly pink. "Not because he wanted to do... well... _anything else_. Anyway, they fell in love and mum spent ages thinking dad was really brave for fighting off that man..."

Peter chuckled. "When really it was just a boggart."

Remus smiled at him. "Exactly. And one day, my father decided he couldn't pretend any longer. So he told her what really happened, told her he was a wizard and everything, and proposed. And, of course, she said yes. She soaked up the news really easily, loved the fact that her husband was magical... They ended up married, with a statue of a boggart on top of their wedding cake."

James whistled. "Wow. Are you serious?"

Sirius snickered. "No, James, honestly. He's Remus, remember? I'm Sirius."

James rolled his eyes and fought the urge to kick Sirius in the shins. "Oh, whatever. That was a terrible joke, Sirius." He turned back to Remus. "Are you kidding me, though? Your parents had a boggart on top of their wedding cake?"

Remus nodded.

James whistled again. "Damn. Your mother sounds awesome."

Blushing slightly, Remus smiled. "She is quite awesome, actually."

Sirius laid down his knife and fork, and sighed, looking down at his empty plate. "My mother definitely isn't awesome," he said gloomily. "In fact, she's actually an old cow."

Peter looked very shocked. "You can't say that!" he whispered.

"Oh, believe me, I can," muttered Sirius darkly. "She's a nasty piece of work. It doesn't matter that I'm her son. She doesn't exactly love me."

Remus laid down his cutlery too. "Sirius, I'm sure that's not true."

"It is," Sirius pressed, resting his chin on his hand. "She thinks I'm a disappointment. Because I'm her eldest son and all that."

"Yes," said Remus patiently. "But I'm sure she still loves you."

This time, Sirius laughed, but it was bitter and humourless. "I don't think she does. The way she looks at me... The disgust is etched in every line of her face. And I know she's not just good at hiding her emotions because I have a younger brother, Regulus. My mother adores him. Just as she adores my cousins, Bellatrix, Narcissa... and even Andromeda."

There was silence. None of the others seemed to know what to say. James spent the time chewing his last mouthful and swigging the rest of his pumpkin juice. Once he had finished, however, the silence grew even more awkward. Remus nudged Peter under the table and tried to get him to speak. James noticed what Remus was doing and joined in, staring at Peter pointedly.

Peter scuffed his toes against the flagstone floor. "Um... Er..." He glanced helplessly from Remus to James, silently pleading for one of them to speak instead, but neither boy opened their mouth.

Fixing his gaze on Sirius' left shoulder, Peter broke the silence. "Um... How- How old is your younger brother, Sirius?"

Sirius looked at him in surprise, sighed and shook his head. "He's about a year younger than me. And an idiot. He idolises Bellatrix and Narcissa."

"Do you...? Er... Do you get on?"

"Get on?" For a moment, Sirius stared at Peter. Then his shoulders sagged. "Uh, yeah, I guess. He's not _too_ bad."

"I don't have any siblings," said James brightly, feeling that it was safer to join in the conversation now. "I always wanted one, though."

"Same here," added Remus, who also felt safer. "And I don't have any cousins, either."

Sirius snorted. "Lucky you. Although, to be fair, Andromeda could turn out okay. As long as my parents don't manage to influence her."

There was another pause.

"Hey, look!" exclaimed James suddenly. "Pudding!"

They all looked. Now that everyone had finished eating, the food plates had been cleared and replaced by the dessert.

This was, if possible, even more impressive than the main course. Towers of profiteroles and meringue rose three feet high. There was a large army of sponge cakes in all shapes and sizes - Peter excitedly pointed out one in the shape of a castle. There were platters of treacle tart (Lily helped herself to some of this)... And heaps of eclairs oozing cream and chocolate.

Sirius, feeling a lot more cheerful, lifted a slice of meringue and let it fall onto his plate. Peter went straight for the Victoria sponge, James found himself drawn to an interesting sort of apple pie and Remus didn't hesitate before going for a slice of chocolate tart.

"Mmm, this is good!" said Sirius, appreciatively licking meringue crumbs off his fingers. "Much better than Kreacher's cooking, anyway."

"Who's Kreacher?" asked James, accidentally spraying food over the table. "Oops. Sorry..." He brushed the table clean.

"He's my family's house-elf," said Sirius. "I mean, his cooking is great when he's on form, but he's usually too busy snogging my mother's feet to do much."

"My mother cooks the meals most of the time," said Remus thoughtfully, swallowing his mouthful and taking another bite. "Although my father's actually quite good at household stuff."

"My father's terrible," laughed James. "It's always mum who does the cooking. I think if you left my dad to make toast, he'd set the whole house on fire."

Everyone laughed.

"My parents take it in turns to cook," said Peter shyly, looking up at them all. "But sometimes they argue over what they're supposed to be cooking. Dad'll say that he's going to make lamb stew and then mum'll say that she was going to make it on Tuesday."

"Don't they write, like, a weekly menu or something?" asked Remus interestedly. "My mum usually writes the week's meals on a piece of paper and sticks it to the fridge."

"What's a fridge?" asked Sirius.

"Oh," said Remus, realising the others wouldn't know. "It's like a big, cold cupboard that you put food in to keep it fresh."

"Hey, we have one of those at home," said Sirius excitedly. "In the kitchen. Except it's literally just a box of charmed ice."

"Well, the one at my house has electricity."

"I've never seen an eclecktic fridge before." James grinned at Remus through the last spoonful of his apple pie. "How does it work?"

"Um... There's this thing called a plug..." began Remus, not quite knowing how to explain. "And it connects the fridge to a kind of power-booster in the wall..."

The boys carried on talking until the puddings, too, had disappeared and Dumbledore had stood up. Everyone in the hall instantly fell silent.

"I hope you are all as full as I am," said Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling. "And I also hope that you aren't too tired. I have a couple of announcements to make. First of all, I am pleased to welcome you back to a brand-new school year and, secondly, I must add that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds to all students. Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that fanged frisbees, ever-bashing boomerangs, dungbombs and screaming yo-yos are just as banned as they were last year-"

At the word 'dungbombs', James and Sirius exchanged grins.

"And I also need to tell you that a new tree, a very valuable Whomping Willow, has been planted in the school grounds. I must warn you that the tree is not one to tolerate... human contact. It will attempt to wallop any student who happens to stray into its shadow."

There was an odd muttering among the students.

Remus felt the metallic taste creeping back into his mouth, but James, Sirius and Peter did not notice his expression. They were all too busy whispering excitedly.

"A Whomping Willow - never heard of a tree like that before," hissed James.

Sirius glanced up at Dumbledore. "I wonder why they planted it. I mean, if it's dangerous..."

Peter looked very anxious. "Is it really dangerous?" he asked.

"Well, it could probably take a good chunk out of you if you get too close... Eh, James?"

James nodded, "Probably," and Peter was left gnawing his lip.

"You'll be fine, Peter," Sirius assured him calmly, drumming his fingers on the table. "We won't let the tree hurt you. I mean, it's a _tree_. It's not like it can walk or anything..."

"It might be able to walk," protested Peter anxiously. "Dumbledore didn't say that it couldn't, did he?"

"Don't be silly, Peter. It can't wallop _and_ walk. That would be too dangerous. They wouldn't let something like that roam in the grounds."

"Yeah," James added, "they wouldn't." He turned to Remus who had gone oddly quiet since the mention of the Whomping Willow. "Would they, Remus?"

Remus, too engrossed in his own thoughts, did not answer.

James leaned over to poke him. "Oi! Remus? Are you awake?"

"Hmm?" As though pulled from a dream, Remus blinked and looked around at the others.

Sirius stopped drumming his fingers. "Are you sure you're alright, mate?" he asked, leaning forwards like James. He frowned slightly. "You know, I asked you earlier if you were fine and you said that you just burned your tongue, but..."

Remus' eyes went very wide. "Oh, no. No. I'm fine, honestly. Absolutely fine... I'm great, really. Totally brilliant..." he gabbled, hardly able to convince himself, let alone the others.

Then, however, he was struck by a brainwave. "I'm just tired," he said firmly, pretending he hadn't noticed the glance Sirius had thrown at James.

Oh, no. Now they thought he was crazy... His very first friends already didn't like him. Well, at least they didn't know the truth...

"Yeah," said James, deciding it was best to leave Remus alone. Maybe he really was tired. Maybe they were worried over nothing. "I'm tired, too. It's been a long day..."

Even as he finished speaking, the rest of the school stood up.

It was time to go to bed at last. The four boys couldn't help being grateful. They really were exhausted. Full of food and nerves and excitement, none of them could wait to get into their beds and sleep... Wherever those beds were, that is.

Sirius stood up and yawned, feeling very full and cheerful. Hogwarts was nothing like home. "Uh... Where do we go now, exactly?" he asked the others, glancing up and down the hall.

James shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe we'll be shown where to go."

"I think that might be a prefect," offered Peter, pointing to a boy several seats down who was standing beside a group of smaller students. "He might be someone we're supposed to follow. And Lily Evans is over there."

"We met her on the train," said Remus, feeling a lot better now the atmosphere had changed. "She was with the Slytherin boy. Severus, I think his name was..."

James snorted. " _Snivellus_ , more like."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, did you see the size of his greasy nose? I don't know why she's friends with him. I'd have scarpered if I was her."

"But you don't even _know_ Severus yet. He can't be that bad," said Remus reasonably, frowning a little. "You shouldn't judge people before you've even got to know them. You never know, he might be nice."

"Yeah," retorted Sirius, glaring over at the Slytherin table, where Severus Snape's dark hair was visible. "Whatever. He came into our compartment, didn't he, James? And he seemed like a git to me."

James found himself nodding vigorously. He understood that Remus had a point, but he didn't like the way Snape was close to Lily.

But Remus pressed on. "Anyway, Lily seemed nice. She said hello and we talked for a bit. She's muggleborn."

"Wonder how she met that Snape boy, then," muttered Sirius darkly.

"She and Remus stopped some Slytherins bullying me," piped up Peter. "I was in a compartment on my own, and the Slytherins came in and started calling me names. Remus arrived and asked them to stop, but they just laughed. Then Lily came in and told them to go away. They left immediately."

"It was very impressive, actually," said Remus thoughtfully. "Lily was, that is. Not me."

"No, you were great too," insisted Peter.

Remus reddened slightly and looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

James found himself liking Remus already. He was kind, for one thing. And very modest. "Come on," he said, looking around at the others. "Let's go and join Lily. If that _is_ a prefect, we should probably hurry. We need to find out where to go."

They all hurried in the direction of the students, Remus lagging slightly behind to wait for Peter, who was a bit slower than the rest.

Lily Evans was with the other first-years, next to a pair of timid-looking girls.

As the boys approached, one of the girls nudged the other and whispered, "Mary, look. Is that a _ghost_?" She pointed towards the other end of the room.

"A _ghost_?" squeaked Peter, his voice very high.

Remus tried to console him. "Don't worry, Peter. It's not solid. It can't hurt you."

"But- b- but..."

"If it touches you, it'll just slide through your body," continued Remus soothingly. "You're alive and the ghost isn't. Ghosts are just the imprints of departed souls. And I promise they're not that scary."

Sirius looked impressed. "'The imprints of departed souls'?" he repeated. "Wow, Remus! Big words!"

Remus blushed again. "Not really... The point is, Peter, you're safe."

"Really?" asked Peter, continuing to eye the ghost apprehensively. It looked a bit violent if he was being perfectly honest. Especially because of its chains and silver bloodstains...

The prefect chose this moment to peer down at them all. "Is this the lot, then?" he asked loudly. "Oi, Felicity!"

A girl, also a Gryffindor prefect, appeared at his side. Her face was soft and round, her eyes were kind, and her cheeks dimpled as she scanned their nervous faces. "Yes, Marcus?"

Marcus didn't look pleased. "I need your help," he told her boldly. "We've got to take this lot-" he jerked his thumb at James and the other Gryffindor first-years "-up to Gryffindor tower. And I'm not taking the cheeky little snot-rags up on my own."

The girl pulled a face. "Oh, but... Marcus, they're not snot-rags. They haven't done anything wrong." She smiled again at the way the first-years were clutching at their fellows. "I remember when I was a first-year. I was _terrified_. I didn't know any magic and I hadn't met anyone yet. The poor things must be scared out of their wits."

Marcus snorted. "Don't be so wet, Felicity. They can't be that terrified. Anyway, I don't care what they're feeling, right now. I just need you to help me take them upstairs."

"Sure," Felicity sighed. "I wouldn't trust you not to beat them up, once you're out of sight of the teachers."

The first-years exchanged glances. They didn't exactly know what to make of Marcus.

"Felicity seems okay," whispered Peter to James, Sirius and Remus as they began moving.

Marcus strode ahead of the group, his robes rippling around his tall, muscular frame. Every now and again, he stopped to look at them all, as if checking that they were still following.

Felicity, meanwhile, fussed over the first-years as they walked, weaving between them and ushering them along like a mother hen. "You'll all love Hogwarts," she was saying loudly, as they went up yet another moving staircase, gawping shamelessly at the moving pictures on the walls. One of the pictures winked at James and a monk with a vial of liquid in his hand waved. "It's a great school. When you first arrive, you might find yourself getting lost, but you'll soon find your way-"

"Hurry up, Felicity!" growled Marcus impatiently, from the top of the stairs. "We'll be here all night and I want to get to bed."

"Well, go to bed, then!" James heard one boy mutter.

There were a couple of appreciative snickers and the girl next to him said, "Ha, ha! Well said, Frank!"

The boy grinned and they came to a halt at the top of the staircase.

Felicity and Marcus signalled to the students to stop. A huge portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress blocked the way forwards. Silence fell among the first-years.

"Password?" trilled the Fat Lady, eyeing them all curiously.

" _Shuntbumps_ ," replied Marcus, nudging Felicity aside.

The Fat Lady smiled. "Quite right," she said and, without warning, the portrait swung forwards to reveal a large hole in the wall.

"Through we go!" said Felicity, gesturing for all the first-years to move forwards.

There was an awkward pause before the boy called Frank stepped forwards and climbed through the hole. The girl who'd been standing next to him followed and the other first-years filtered through.

"Need a leg-up, Peter?" asked James, once he himself had scrambled through the portrait hole.

Peter tried and failed to climb through after him. "Erm... Yes, please," he said sheepishly.

"Hurry up!" barked Marcus from behind them.

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Here, Peter," said Remus as he boosted up the smaller boy.

With a muffled squeal, Peter Pettigrew tumbled through the gap in the wall, landing on top of a disgruntled James.

"Ow!" James cried, disentangling himself from Peter.

"Sorry, James!"

"Is everyone in?" came Felicity's voice and, a second later, Remus had climbed through the hole too.

The two prefects followed him and the portrait hole swung closed behind them. James allowed himself to look around at his surroundings. They were in a very cosy round room, full of squashy red armchairs. A merry fire roared in the fireplace, and the red and gold Gryffindor colours beamed down at them from the walls. It was nothing like his messy bedroom back home or the Potters' huge sitting-room, but somehow it felt like home. He grinned at Sirius, who was biting his lip to contain his excitement.

They were in the highest tower in Hogwarts.

"Wow," said the girl next to Frank. "It's cosy in here."

Frank nodded. "Yeah, Alice," he said, in the same awed tone. "Hogwarts just gets better and better."

"Come on, stop dawdling, all of you. Let's get to bed. Boys are up that staircase-" Marcus pointed towards one of the flights of steps "-and girls are up the other. G'night."

"Night," the first-years muttered sleepily.

"Sleep well!" Felicity followed Marcus out of the common room.

The first-years separated. Frank followed James, Sirius, Remus and Peter up the boys' staircase.

"Not that many of us, are there?" asked James with a yawn, as they went through a small wooden door at the top.

"No," agreed Sirius. "And there are only four girls, too. Five boys and four girls. That makes nine of us."

"I wonder how many Slytherins there are," said Frank, moving over to one of the four-poster beds and sitting on it with a thump.

"There are ten of them," said Remus automatically. "I counted. And there are nine Ravenclaws and eleven Hufflepuffs. We're fairly evenly-spread."

"Why did you count them?" Sirius asked in surprise, flinging himself down on a bed between Remus and James.

Peter chose a bed on Remus' left - Frank's right.

"I don't know," replied Remus quietly. "I partly did it to distract myself from my nervousness, but also partly out of curiosity... It was nothing, really."

"Nah, it wasn't nothing," said James generously, unloading his trunk which had been placed next to his bed. "I guess the number of students in each house varies from year to year. Imagine if Gryffindor had no students!"

"Well, that was kind of what I thought," Remus told him, unfastening the lid of his own trunk and pulling out a pair of striped pyjamas. "I was wondering what they'd do if a house only had one student or something."

"What do you think they'd do?" asked Sirius, who had already pulled on his pyjamas. He sat on the end of his bed and lazily lent on his bedside table.

"I don't know," said Remus. "I don't think they'd be able to do anything."

James wouldn't normally have found such a conversation interesting but, for some reason, it _was_ interesting. "Yeah. I guess they can't exactly transfer people to other houses, can they?"

"Can we just go to sleep?" begged Peter from beneath his duvet. "I'm shattered."

"Me too," admitted Frank, also climbing into bed. "I'm Frank. Frank Longbottom."

The others all introduced themselves before getting into their own beds.

James hastily finished buttoning up the rest of his Snitch-patterned pyjamas.

"Are they Snitches on your pyjamas?" Frank asked James, as James finally slid under his duvet.

"Uh- Yeah. They're new pyjamas. I got them in Diagon Alley." Truth be told, James was secretly rather proud of their Snitch pattern. They'd been the last pair of that kind in the shop.

"What's your Quidditch team?"

"The Wimborne Wasps. You?"

Frank smiled mischievously. "The Silver Arrows."

James laughed. "No way! That makes us rivals!" He raised his head off the pillow and addressed the still-awake Remus. "Remus, what about you? You follow Quidditch, right?"

Remus stifled a yawn. _He really was very tired._ "I do, but I'm not that competitive, to be honest," he said truthfully. "I quite like the Hollyhead Harpies."

James groaned to himself. "Don't tell me you're in love with Glynnis Griffiths!"

"Don't worry. I'm not. I just think they're a good team."

"Will you two please shut up and go to sleep?" growled Peter's voice. He was now only visible as a lump beneath the blankets.

James grinned. "Sorry, Pete. 'Night, everyone."

"'Night, James."

There was a slight scuffling as everyone made themselves comfortable. Someone extinguished a light and James placed his glasses on his bedside table.

Weighed down with food and sleep, James began to drift off, watching the window at the far end of the room and the stars that were visible through it. He was at Hogwarts at last. He was at Hogwarts, he'd made friends and he was going to make this the best seven years of his life.

The last thought he had as his eyelids dropped was that someone had left the bathroom light on.

* * *

**A/N:**

**As usual, thanks for reading! It's been very fun writing this so far - I can't believe I haven't written Harry Potter fanfiction for this long!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**

**~ Lacy**


	5. I Solemnly Swear

**\- CHAPTER FIVE -**

##  _I Solemnly Swear_

* * *

Gryffindor tower looked beautiful when dappled in sunlight. The red hangings on the four-poster beds glowed rust-gold in the shaft of light from the window, concealing the gently-breathing forms of the four sleeping boys. The fifth Gryffindor, however, was wide awake.

Yawning, Sirius Black sat up and pushed aside the hangings. He glanced around at the rest of the dormitory, taking in the wooden floorboards and the strange, metal heater in the centre of the room. No one else seemed to have woken.

He shook his tousled hair out of his eyes and climbed out of bed, wincing as his bare feet touched the cold floor. Making his way to the window, Sirius helped himself to a glass of water and peered out. The Hogwarts grounds stretched in front of him, disappearing into forest on his right, into lake on his left and into castle everywhere else. A young, quivering tree sat directly in front of him, its branches swaying in a non-existent breeze. The Whomping Willow.

Sirius stared at it. For some reason, it looked different from all the other trees, standing alone in the middle of the grounds. He scrunched up his nose. Why would anyone plant a vicious tree in the middle of a school? Did it have magical properties? Or maybe, his heart skipped a couple of beats, the tree was _guarding_ something. Where did Dumbledore even get a whomping tree from, anyway?

Sipping his water, Sirius focused on the icy liquid sliding down his throat. Maybe Dumbledore bought it from a friend. Or maybe one of the teachers helped to grow it. Maybe-

"Ouch!"

Behind Sirius, someone had just tripped over something. There was a dull thud, then Sirius turned, just in time to see Remus Lupin cursing under his breath and clutching his foot. He grinned. "Hi, Remus."

Remus jumped and almost dropped the pile of clothes he was clutching. "Oh, um, hi. I- I didn't realise anyone else would be awake."

Sirius finished the last of his water and placed the empty glass on the table. "Nor did I. I woke up early and thought I'd take a look at the view."

"Oh, really?" Remus hovered in the middle of the floor, awkwardly biting his lip. "What's it like out there?"

Turning back to the window, Sirius shuffled over so there was space for both of them. "Come and see."

Remus hesitated.

"Come on! What are you waiting for?"

Still biting his lip, Remus crossed the dormitory to stand next to Sirius, leaving at least a foot of space between them. He looked out at the wild landscape, his eyes drinking the view. It was prettier than he could've imagined and his breath caught in his throat. "Wow."

Sirius grinned at the look on his face. "I know, right? The lake is massive. So's the forest - I wouldn't fancy getting lost in there. And you see that tree?" He pointed.

Remus' stomach lurched. The Whomping Willow. It was right there, out of place in the middle of the grass. _What would it look like at night?_ He turned away, his heart pounding, and found Sirius's grey eyes searching his own.

"See?" prompted the boy, clearly not noticing the queasy expression on Remus' face.

Remus tore his eyes from the Willow. "Uh, yeah," he murmured. "Yeah, it's great." He took a tiny step away from Sirius, wrapping his arms more securely around him.

Sirius looked at him, brow furrowed. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," said Remus, gnawing his lip. "I was just… just… Um, I should probably be getting dressed."

"Getting dressed?" Sirius' surprise deepened as he took in the clothes clutched to Remus' skinny torso. "What, already? You know it's only six o'clock, right? We don't need to go down to breakfast for at least another hour."

Remus took another step backwards. "Yes, I- I- I know. I just wanted to... erm... to use the bathroom." He tried hard to avoid Sirius' gaze. Avoiding awkward questions was precisely the reason he had wanted to get up early.

Sirius blinked but said nothing.

Fleeing in the direction of the bathroom, Remus closed the door and locked it behind him. He stood in front of the mirror and stared at his own reflection. Six years of scars stood out against his tired, eleven-year-old face. As happy as he was to be at Hogwarts, he couldn't help feeling dirty and out of place. Remus placed his robes carefully on a chair beside the door, then began to pull his pyjamas over his head, wincing as he took in the scars that ran over his torso.

He didn't know how he was going to keep his secret from these boys, these people that were clearly too curious for their own good, that seemed so wild and confident and...

It hardly made a difference. He was going to have to hide it from them, no matter what.

Outside the bathroom, he could hear Sirius blundering around. There came the sounds of a trunk opening, then several thuds as things were tossed to the floor.

Without anyone to talk to, Sirius had decided to rootle through his trunk. Brand-new spell books and potion ingredients were flung aside as he searched through the piles of socks, underwear and robes. It _must_ be in here somewhere.

He rummaged in his cauldron and found something metallic and hard. His heart skipped a beat: _Aha!_ He'd found it!

But upon closer inspection, he found it was just his telescope.

Shifting position on the hard wooden floor, Sirius searched more vigorously. More spell books, more potion ingredients and more socks found their way into his hands...Then, at last, he found it. The small Black family heirloom that his father had pressed on him before he'd left the house. A heavy, golden watch.

Sirius stared at it for a long time. The watch was expensive, ornate and therefore hideous. There was also the added repulsion that it had belonged to his father. And his grandfather. And his great-great-grandfather...

It was a symbol of purity and wealth, a symbol of everything the Blacks stood for. In other words, it was a representation of Sirius' differences from the rest of his family.

He could practically hear his mother waving it in his face and saying, "This is what you _should_ be wearing, Sirius. This is what you _should_ be thinking". Because, according to Walburga Black, following anything other than the traditional family values was wrong and nothing short of disgraceful when it came to preserving blood-status.

He glared at the watch in his hand, noticing with distaste that it had the Black family crest embellished on the back. There was no way he was wearing that. Absolutely no way. He didn't have another watch, but he didn't need to know the time. He could make do without, for now. And he couldn't exactly write to his parents and ask for a new one.

The bathroom door opened and Remus emerged, his brown hair combed, with his pyjamas folded neatly under one arm. He was fully-dressed.

"Hi again, Remus," said Sirius, glancing up from where he sat on the floor.

"Hello," Remus replied, dropping his pyjamas on his four-poster bed and turning to his own trunk. He pulled out a heavy-looking book.

Sirius looked up again, interested. "Hey, what's that?"

Remus blinked, but sat down on his bed and opened the book to a page near the end. He began to read. "Oh, just a book," he said vaguely, not looking up.

"What's the title?"

"'Great Expectations'. It's a muggle book. I was reading it on the train when Peter was being attacked by those Slytherins. I've nearly finished."

Sirius leaned against his trunk and yawned. "It sounds very... educational."

Remus smiled. "It's fictional, actually," he said, turning a page and reading on. "Set in the eighteenth century. It was written by a man called Charles Dickens."

"Never heard of him," said Sirius, failing to hide his disinterest.

Remus looked amused. "You've never heard of Charles Dickens?"

"Nope." Sirius shook his head. "Why? Is he, like, famous or something?"

This time, Remus actually laughed. "He's about as famous as you can get in the muggle world."

"Really?" The split between wizards and muggles had always intrigued Sirius Black.

"Yes."

There was a silence while Remus continued reading, utterly immersed in the book. In the bed along from Sirius, meanwhile, James was beginning to stir. So was Frank Longbottom.

"Wassgoingon?" muttered James groggily, opening his eyes and groping around for his glasses. Clumsily, he placed them on his nose and sat up. "Is it morning yet?"

Sirius grinned from the floor. "It is indeed, James Potter."

"What are you doing?" James scrambled out of bed and leaned over to look at Sirius.

"Not much. Remus is reading and I was sorting through my trunk."

"What's the time?"

Shaking his head in distaste, Sirius checked the gold watch. "Around half-past six." He got to his feet and closed the lid of his trunk. The noise echoed through the silence and Frank groaned from the other side of the room.

"Oi, don't do that! Close it gently, for Merlin's sake!"

Sirius smirked and began to unbutton his pyjamas. "Sorry, mate. Just getting dressed." He shrugged the pyjama top off his shoulders and let it slide to the floor. Then he pulled on his school robes.

"What time's breakfast?" James asked, standing up. He stretched and looked around for his own robes, which he had laid on top of his trunk the night before.

"Any time from six 'til half-past eight," Sirius replied, now pulling off his pyjama bottoms and replacing them with grey trousers. "We've got ages."

James began undressing, kicking aside his pyjamas with the same confidence as Sirius. "Ah, well. Might as well get dressed now." He turned to Remus. "How d'you get dressed so quickly?"

"Sorry?" Remus looked up from his book.

James repeated the question.

"Oh," said Remus, not meeting anybody's gaze. "I got up early to... to..." He glanced around for an excuse. "To read my book. I've been in my robes for ages."

"I'm not really a morning person," said Frank, who was also getting dressed. "I can't just ping up at the crack of dawn, like some people seem to."

"Same," said James, now trying to find some socks. Please say he'd remembered to pack them... _Please_ say that he hadn't left them at home… He moved aside his copy of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' and looked under his set of brass scales. He found a pile of socks and relief flooded through him.

Grabbing a pair, he pulled them on, then stuffed his feet into his shoes.

Sirius finished dressing and sat down on his unmade bed. "Is Peter awake yet?" he asked, peering over Remus' head at the lump that was Peter beneath the duvet.

Frank fastened his tie and looked at Peter. "Nope."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Give him a poke."

But Frank pulled a face. "I would, but I can't reach from here. Tell Remus to poke him."

Sirius looked at Remus, seemed to decide that Remus wouldn't do it hard enough and leant over Peter himself. "Oh, all right. I'll do it, then." He gave the sleeping boy a hard jab in the stomach.

"Ow!" moaned the sleepy-eyed Peter Pettigrew. His blonde head emerged from under the covers, his fists rubbing the grit from his eyes. "That hurt, you idiots! I was trying to sleep!"

"Sorry, Pete," said Sirius, shrugging unapologetically. "But we had to wake you. It's almost time to go."

"It's okay," said Peter, massaging the spot where Sirius' finger had been. "I'm awake now, aren't I?"

"Good point, Peter," said James, putting on his watch. "Now, you might want to get dressed. We'll leave without you if you don't hurry up."

Peter squeaked and tumbled out of bed, landing with a muffled thump at Remus' feet. Apparently, the fear of being left behind was too much to bear.

Remus helped him up. "Don't worry, Peter," he said kindly, as the smaller boy threw his clothes on in a panic. "They won't leave without you." Then, stowing his book neatly on his bedside cabinet, he hurried out of the dormitory and closed the door behind him.

James and Sirius both made to go after him.

"Why didn't he wait for us?" asked James to Sirius a few minutes later, as they hurried down from Gryffindor Tower, with Peter scrambling along behind them. Frank had waited in the common room for his friend, a girl who was apparently called Alice.

"I don't know," said Sirius, frowning. "But he moves fast. He was gone before any of us could even stop him and I can't see him anywhere. He must be in the Great Hall."

"Do you think we offended him?"

Sirius shook his head. "How could we have done? You haven't even spoken much, this morning, and I'm pretty sure that all I talked about was Charles Dickens and scenery."

There was a small commotion from behind them and they both turned. Peter had tripped over one of the stone steps.

"Are you all right?" asked James, helping him regain his balance.

Peter nodded. "Yes, thanks. I just tripped. Have you seen Remus, yet?"

"No," said James and Sirius together.

Peter's brow furrowed. "Why did he leave?"

Sirius sighed. "We were just trying to work that out, Peter," he said. He glanced at James. "We'll look for him in the Great Hall and, if he's there, we'll go and sit with him. Right?"

"And what if he's not there?" asked James.

"Then we'll... Oh, I don't know. I guess we'll just have to look for him somewhere else."

"And what," added Peter, "do we do if we see Remus at breakfast, but there's no room for us where he's sitting?"

Sirius groaned. "Look, I don't know, do I? Let's just improvise. We'll know what to do if we find him."

They had arrived in the Entrance Hall and made their way through the double doors into the Great Hall. A gaggle of third-years jostled past them and James, Sirius and Peter followed them to the Gryffindor table, scanning the benches for Remus as they went.

At last, James spotted him sitting at the very end of the table. "Look, there he is! He's right there, next to... Hey, it's that red-haired girl - Lily Evans!"

"How d'you remember her name?" asked Peter, squinting in Remus' direction.

Remus had his back to them, but they were pretty sure it was him. How many other tall, brown-haired first-years would sit at the Gryffindor table?

Shaking his head at Peter, James sighed and began to stride in Remus' direction. "I listen, Peter," he said. "Now, come on."

As the three boys drew closer, they saw that Remus and Lily were deep in conversation. Odd words like 'Hogwarts', 'spells', and 'Bathilda Bagshot' reached James' ears. He didn't know what they were talking about but, whatever it was, it must've been engaging; neither Lily nor Remus noticed the others approaching.

"What do we do now?" whispered Peter, poking his mousey head between James and Sirius. "Do we tap him on the shoulder, or what?"

James confidently stepped forwards. "Let's just say hi," he said. "You two keep behind me."

"Fair enough," said Sirius, clapping James on the back. "You're in charge here."

James only grinned as he stood a little straighter, moving so he was directly behind Remus and Lily. "Hi, Remus," he said loudly, keeping his voice as airy as possible.

Unsurprisingly, Remus jumped, spilling his porridge all down his front. Looking slightly flustered, he dabbed at his robes with a napkin.

Lily looked up, her green eyes narrowing at the sight of James and Sirius.

Sirius gave Lily an irritating little wave, at which Lily scowled, returned to her breakfast and refused to look at them.

Sirius nudged Peter. "I don't think she likes us," he said, in a very carrying stage-whisper. "What do you think we did?"

Lily ignored him.

James' attention was still on Remus. "Sorry for scaring you," he said as he watched the other boy drop the used napkin onto the table. "We really didn't mean to make you jump."

Remus laughed nervously. "Oh, no. it's... it's absolutely fine..."

James smiled. "Do you mind if we join you?"

For some reason, Remus almost dropped his spoon. "No. No, of course. Sit anywhere you like."

"Thanks!" James sat down next to him, while Sirius and Peter went around the other side.

Remus smiled briefly before dropping his gaze back to his porridge and fiddling with the handle of the spoon, frowning as though trying to work something out.

Sirius reached for some bacon, while Peter bit into a croissant.

Halfway through picking up a boiled egg, however, James decided to get straight into the thick of things. "So why did you leave without us?"

Remus really did drop his spoon this time. Avoiding James' eye, he turned very pink. "I... Well, I..."

"It's okay," said James quickly, sensing that things were getting awkward. "I just thought we were coming down together."

Picking up the spoon from the floor, Remus didn't know whether to be ashamed of himself or happy. He settled for a mixture. "Sorry," he said truthfully as he laid his spoon beside his bowl, "I should've waited. I just... you know."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and leant forwards on his elbows. "We were wondering whether we offended you," he said. "You just kind of... left."

"I-I'm sorry," whispered Remus. His heart was pounding and he knew he'd been an idiot. On his right, he could feel Lily looking at him along with Peter, James and Sirius. "I didn't mean to annoy you. And you definitely didn't offend me."

James was confused. "We _didn't_ offend you? Then... Why did you leave?"

His cheeks growing warmer with every second, Remus went back to staring at his bowl. "I- I just assumed..." he began. He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "I just thought that- that you wouldn't want me to... to bother you."

There was a very shocked silence.

"You thought _what_?" said Sirius loudly, looking at Remus as though he was mad. "Are you crazy? Why, in the name of _Merlin_ , would you think something like _that_?"

But James thought he knew. "You... You haven't met many school kids, have you?" he asked slowly, remembering what Remus had said yesterday about being home-schooled.

Remus shook his head. "I- I haven't met _any_ , actually."

Sirius choked on a bacon rind. He coughed and spluttered until Peter had the sense to thump him on the back. Finally, his eyes watering, he resurfaced. "You mean... You mean… Do you actually mean to tell me that we're the first people your age that you've ever met?"

Very slowly, Remus nodded.

Sirius stared at him. Then he whistled. "Damn," he said, laughing to himself with shock. " _Damn_. No wonder you thought... But, honestly, we're friends, right? I thought we decided that yesterday."

James and Peter nodded.

Remus stared at him, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Had he actually made a group of friends for the first time in his life? Had he actually met some people who thought he was worth knowing?

"We did?" he asked finally, half wondering whether it was a trick.

Sirius laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course we did! Why would we be here now if we weren't friends?"

Peter and Remus could both think of quite a few reasons. Peter even dared to voice some of them aloud.

"Um... to trick him? To laugh at him? To make yourselves look good?"

Sirius abruptly stopped laughing. He looked slowly from Remus to Peter and back again. "Why would James and I do that?"

Peter blushed slightly. "Well... I- I hate to break it to you guys but people like you don't really hang around with... with..." But he didn't seem able to continue.

"With people like us," finished Remus quietly, catching Peter's eye, then looking away.

James blinked slowly. "What do you mean, ' _people like us_ '?" he demanded furiously.

Peter shuffled his feet and glanced at Remus.

Remus answered for him. "It's not an insult, James," he said gently. "It's just that... well, you and Sirius are what people call 'popular'. And, erm... Peter and I... Well, we aren't."

Sirius glared at him. "So?" he snapped, leaning forwards again. "Who says you're not popular?"

Remus smiled sadly. "I'm a nerdy goody-two-shoes, Sirius. And Peter..." He didn't want to be rude. "Peter is kind of..."

"Dumb," said Peter dully, staring at his plate. "Stupid. Short. Whatever you want to call me."

James indignantly put down his fork. "You're not stupid, Peter!" he said sharply. "And there's nothing wrong with being nerdy, Remus."

"Tell that to the Slytherins I met on the train," muttered Peter darkly. But he did look a bit happier.

"Anyway," Sirius continued. "At least you're two have people who love you in your life. I'm basically the family reject."

James, who has just picked up his fork, slammed it back down again. "Will you please all stop putting yourselves down?" he said, so angrily that the others went completely silent. "I think we've established that we all have insecurities and I'm _not_ going to sit here and let you feel miserable. I don't care if I'm a 'popular person', Peter. And I especially don't care if you're considered a 'nerd'. We're friends because we like each other, not because the social hierarchy demands it. If you think you're not good enough, you can shut up right now, because I'm telling you that you are. You _are_ good enough, okay? All of you. And that's the way it is. Are we clear?"

James stopped ranting, breathing heavily. Everyone in the vicinity was looking at him. Even Lily. He hadn't realised he was being so loud.

At last, however, Remus spoke up. "You're right, James," he said quietly. "I shouldn't bow down to the people that tell me I'm not good enough." _Even if it's true._ He added it silently and without thinking, keeping his eyes on the bowl.

Sirius nodded. Letting out his breath in one long sigh, he ran a hand through his dark hair. "Yeah. You _are_ right. I'm sorry for being a git." He grinned at James, polishing off the last bit of bacon as Peter looked up.

"I'm sorry, too," Peter whispered. "And I'll try to stand up for myself from now on."

James looked at him sternly. "Do you solemnly swear?"

Peter hesitated. "Yes, James. I... I solemnly swear."

James relaxed. "Good," he said, grinning at his friends. He hated the way they doubted themselves and decided that it was his mission, from now on, to stay with them forever. "Look, Professor McGonagall's handing out timetables. I wonder what we have first."

"Dunno," said Sirius, also grinning. "But I hope we don't have to go outside." He pointed upwards at the enchanted ceiling, which always reflected the weather. "It's raining horribly."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for taking the time to read :) It really means a lot! I'm still open to feedback, so if you have any, feel free to drop it in a comment below. 
> 
> Thanks! 
> 
> ~ Lacy


	6. Wizards Have Cacti Too

**\- CHAPTER SIX-**

##  _Wizards Have Cacti Too_

* * *

"Where the ruddy hell _is_ classroom 1B?" Sirius asked irritably, as they climbed yet another staircase on the way to their first lesson.

"It's the Transfiguration classroom," said Remus unhelpfully, clutching a stitch in his side.

Sirius rolled his eyes and started using the bannister to haul himself up. "I know that, but that still doesn't tell us where the stupid thing _is_!"

They reached the top of the stairs and stood there for a few seconds, panting.

"My - legs - hurt!" gasped Peter, who was bent over double as he struggled to regain his breath.

"So do mine," said James. He leant against the wall and looked around him. To his left, there was another staircase; to the right, there was a corridor. "Which way do we go now?"

"I don't know," said Remus, examining his timetable. They didn't have any directions apart from the printed name of the teacher, the subject and the classroom number. "Let's go right. I don't think I can take another staircase."

"Me neither," came Peter's voice. He was still hunched over and beads of sweat had started to break out on his forehead. "But let's have a break before we move on - my feet can't move any more."

James nodded. "All right. Hurry up, though. We've only got a couple of minutes."

"What if we're late?" Remus hopped on the spot looking anxious. Late to their very first lesson? That wasn't something he wanted to think about... They'd make a bad impression.

"We won't be," James assured him gently. "I promise."

Sirius glanced at Peter's watch, which was showing beneath his sleeve. "I wouldn't promise that, if I were you. We've got two minutes to get there. I don't think we'll make it."

Remus groaned and hopped even more frantically. "Oh, no... Oh, no..."

"Relax, mate, we'll be fine," Sirius told him. "I won't let you get detention. I'll tell McGonagall that it was my fault."

"But it wasn't. That would be a lie."

"Exactly," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "But it will get you out of trouble."

Frowning slightly, as though he doubted Sirius' morality, Remus opened his mouth to argue. But James got there first.

"Come on," he said. "We'd better get going. We really are going to be late, if we don't hurry up."

Sirius nudged Remus. "See? I told you so. And if it's inevitable, there's no point worrying."

This did nothing to lessen Remus' panic.

"I said 'if we don't hurry up', idiot!" retorted James, dragging the puffing Peter down the corridor. "I didn't say it was _inevitable_!"

Sirius shrugged. "That doesn't mean it isn't."

They hurried through the castle, taking turns at random, avoiding the staircases wherever possible. Peter trailed a little behind the others, his face flushed with exhaustion, struggling to keep up. Remus would probably have waited for him if he hadn't been so paranoid about being late. He was the one leading the way, while Sirius and James strode a pace or two behind.

"What's the time?" asked James, passing a suit of armour and glancing back at it over his shoulder. He was practically willing to swear it was the same one they'd passed earlier.

"Four minutes past nine," panted Peter. "We're late."

Remus groaned and sped up.

"Wait for us, Remus!" said James loudly, hurrying after his friend, dragging Sirius with him.

"Oi, stop dragging me! Holy unicorn turds! I can walk on my own, thanks!" Sirius did not take kindly to being pulled around corners. He pulled his arm out of James' grip.

"Sorry, mate."

Peter stopped walking and glanced back at the suit of armour they had just passed. "Have we been down this corridor already?" he asked. "It's just... I swear I've seen that thing before."

James stopped too and Sirius reached out for Remus. The three of them turned.

"Well, that's what I thought," said James slowly. "I thought the armour looked familiar too. It's got the same dent in it as that one in the Charms corridor... But I don't recognise the rest of this area at all."

"Maybe the armour can walk," suggested Sirius, more as a joke than anything.

"I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest," said Remus. Then he jiggled his feet. "Can we get going, though, please? We're _very_ late now and I'm still panicking."

Peter tore his gaze away from the suit of armour and followed the others down the corridor.

James chuckled. "All right, Remus, keep your hair on... Hey look!" he stopped suddenly.

Remus turned. " _What_?" he snapped, looking irritated. Then he realised how rude he must've sounded and blushed slightly. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise," said James, waving him aside. "I just think we're nearly there. See?" he pointed to a lone student standing outside a door up ahead. "Is that Frank?"

They all looked.

Sirius' heart gave a lurch. "It _is_!" he cried, as he recognised Frank's tall, brown-haired profile. "But what is he doing outside? He can't have been sent out _already_."

"I don't know," said Remus, waving at Frank to catch his attention. "Though at least we now know where the classroom is!"

"Yeah." James watched as Frank noticed them and waved back. He raised his voice to call after the other boy. "Hi, Frank! What're you doing?"

Frank waited until the others were a meter away before speaking. "McGonagall told me to wait outside for you. She's a bit... um... _irritated_ , I think."

Remus' heart sank. _Here comes detention..._

Sirius peered around the door into the classroom. Professor McGonagall stood at the front of it, tapping her foot impatiently. Her nostrils were flaring.

"A _bit_ irritated?" he said, glancing at Frank. "A _bit_? She looks like she's about to-"

But Professor McGonagall had noticed him looking. "Mr Longbottom, have you found them yet?" she said irritably, striding over to the door and staring down at the five boys.

Frank looked uncertainly at James. "Uh, yes, Professor. I have. They're here, right here."

Professor McGonagall's spectacles flashed. " _Well_?" she demanded, turning from one guilty face to the others. "Why are you all so late?"

Keeping his eyes on the floor, James decided to speak. Professor McGonagall had a knack of making people feel ashamed of themselves, even if they had only been late. "We... We got lost, Professor," he said. "We're really, really sorry."

McGonagall sniffed. "Hmm..." she said, still looking at them sharply.

Beside him, James could feel Peter trembling. Remus' eyes were very wide. For a moment, it seemed as though the Professor was going to let them off scot-free. Her expression certainly seemed a little softer as she took in the general first-year-ness that surrounded them... But then her gaze fell on Sirius, who was absently examining his fingernails. He looked up at her as he sensed her eyes on him, meeting her gaze with perfect, lazy arrogance.

Professor McGonagall's face creased into one of mild disapproval. "As it is your first day," she said crisply, "I will not give any of you detention. However," she glanced pointedly at Sirius, who still looked unabashed, "I shall be taking a point off Gryffindor for tardiness. Inside, please." She pointed through the door into the classroom and, one by one, the boys filed past her, trying not to look too pleased with how easily they'd got away.

Frank headed for a seat next to his friend, a girl who had been copying something from the blackboard. Sirius and James slid into two empty seats in the second row, while Peter and Remus were left to take the last desk at the front.

Once the class was settled, Professor McGonagall closed the classroom door and turned to face them.

Everyone went silent and James - with a pang of dislike - saw greasy-haired Severus Snape hastily stop whispering to Lily.

"Now that our latecomers have finally joined us," McGonagall began, picking up her wand from her desk and sweeping it through the air. "I would like to begin the lesson."

Instantly, the blackboard, which had been bearing the words "Professor M. McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor house", was wiped blank. The girl next to Frank hastily put down her quill.

James sat up a little straighter. He didn't think it was a good idea to irritate this teacher even more by not listening.

"If you could please take out your copies of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration', I would like you to turn to page four and read the first paragraph. I will walk you through anything you do not understand when you have finished."

There was a great scrabbling as everyone bent down to pull their books from their bags. James glanced over at Remus and Peter, as he put his quill and ink on his desk, then bent over to reach his own textbook. He extracted it from his bag and dumped it, with a loud thump, in front of him. Then he rifled through the pages until he'd found the one marked with a four. Exchanging a brief grin with Sirius, James began to read.

It was much more complex than he'd expected.

In the row in front, Peter was frowning as he attempted to decipher something about wand movement. He gnawed at his fingernails, trying and failing to concentrate.

Sirius was leaning back on his chair with only two of the wooden legs touching the ground.

James, meanwhile, was surprised at how quickly he'd managed to grasp the concepts. Yes, they had been worded strangely, but the idea was fairly simple once you'd understood the basics...

Once they'd all finished reading Professor McGonagall brought their attention back to her. She began to explain the process of Transfiguration, how the wand movement was crucial, how the trickiness of the spell depended on mass and certain other scientific variables… Then she stopped and looked at them all very sternly.

"Before we begin," she said, laying her wand on her desk. "I will have you know that I do not accept foolish behaviour in my lessons. Anyone foolish enough to mess around will be leaving immediately. And they won't come back. Transfiguration is an immensely difficult branch of magic and I would like your full attention when I am talking. In practicals, I do not expect you all to get the spell right on the first attempt, however I will have to be hard on you if you refuse to try."

The entire class was listening to her more intently than ever; Professor McGonagall, it seemed, had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

She picked up her wand again and continued. "Mistakes, of course, are inevitable, but ignorance is not. Therefore, accept your mistakes with the full understanding that it is within your power to fix them." The wand twirled and, the next thing they knew, McGonagall had changed the quill on her desk to a porcupine and back again.

Everyone stared. There was an outbreak of muttering. Behind James and Sirius, Lily Evans turned to Severus Snape and whispered, "Wow, I can't wait to do spells like that!"

But the first-years soon realised that they weren't going to be starting animal transformations any time soon. Professor McGonagall set them all to making a large pile of notes, then gave them homework; they had to read the whole first chapter of 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' for their next lesson.

Sirius groaned as they left the classroom when the bell rang. "I can't believe we've got _homework_ in our very first class!" he muttered, pushing Peter through the door.

Remus made to reply but, as he followed Sirius out, Professor McGonagall called out for him to stay: "Mr Lupin, a quick word, please."

James whirled around and stared at him. "What've _you_ done?" he demanded. "You didn't speak all lesson - how could you have done anything?"

But Remus shook his head. He thought he knew exactly why McGonagall wanted him. She was, after all, head of his house. "I don't think it's because I was rude or anything... Look, you three go on. I'll see you in Herbology." He tried to nudge James after Peter and Sirius.

But James didn't move. "It's okay," he said firmly, "we'll wait."

"No, really-" Remus began, but he was saved by Professor McGonagall.

"Hurry up, the rest of you. You'll be late for your next class."

Very reluctantly, James, Sirius and Peter left the classroom, looking back over their shoulders as they did so. What did Professor McGonagall want with Remus?

As the classroom door swung shut, Remus turned around to look at the professor.

Professor McGonagall looked back at him, her expression unreadable except for a tiny glimmer of... Was it _pity_? She pointed to the desk he'd just vacated. "Sit."

Remus obeyed, perching on the chair with an awkward sort of grimace. His teacher remained standing, although her expression had softened slightly. He did, after all, seem like a quiet, sensible boy with unfortunate circumstances beyond his control. Nothing like him had ever been seen at Hogwarts before.

"I assume Professor Dumbledore has told you about the precautions we are taking to ensure the safety of both you and your fellow students?"

Silently, Remus nodded, preferring to stare at his hands rather than look McGonagall in the eye.

"And you understand that it would be unwise to broadcast your condition?" Professor McGonagall looked at him again, barely able to keep her voice professional.

Another nod.

The professor tapped her wand against her palm, looking uncharacteristically absent. "In two weeks' time, at the full moon, Madam Pomfrey will escort you down to the Whomping Willow - you will remain there until morning. Then, when the sun rises, she will take you back down to the hospital wing... You may have to stay there for a couple of days, depending on-on-"

At last, Remus glanced up from his lap, looking Professor McGonagall dead in the eye. "You don't have to let me burden you. I could just use Essence of Dittany and-"

McGonagall stared at him. "You will most certainly not," she snapped, her square spectacles flashing. "While you are at Hogwarts, you will receive the care and attention that you need. No exceptions. And don't you dare call yourself a burden!"

Remus went back to staring at his hands, trying to blink the tears of gratitude from his eyes without Professor McGonagall noticing.

Possibly she _did_ notice, however, for she took a couple of calming breaths and said, "Perhaps you should head to Herbology. I think I have kept you long enough. If you need anything, you know where to find me... and Madam Pomfrey, the matron, will also be around to support you."

"Thank you, Professor," whispered Remus gratefully, ashamed to find that his eyes were welling up again. He got up from his chair.

Professor McGonagall gave him a small smile as he turned to leave the classroom. "I'll tell Professor Sprout that it is entirely my fault that you are late. For the second lesson in one day, might I add," she said, her voice suddenly stern.

Remus went pink. "Sorry, Professor. We got lost. It won't happen again."

She sighed. "I hope not."

But Remus could've sworn she smiled once more as she watched him leave the classroom.

***

By the time Remus reached Greenhouse One, where his class were supposed to be having Herbology lessons, he was at least fifteen minutes late. He hurried through the greenhouse door, muttered a hasty "Sorry, Professor," to Professor Sprout - who was mid-way through explaining how to pot a Spiky bush - and joined his friends around their bench.

James, Sirius and Peter immediately launched into a round of questioning.

"Are you okay?"

"Why did she keep you?"

"You haven't got detention, have you?"

Remus waved them off as best as he could. "No, no. I'm fine, Peter. And, no, Sirius. I haven't got detention..."

James frowned. "Then why did she keep you?"

A split second into thinking up a lie, Remus was rescued from speaking by Professor Sprout.

Covered in dirt, her patched hat askew, Sprout looked up from the bush she was forcing into a pot and said, "Quiet over there, please, boys. You'll need to listen to this."

Very relieved, Remus turned away from his friends' inquisitive stares and immersed himself in Professor Sprout's long-winded talk. Once she'd given them all the proper instructions, Professor Sprout handed out one large Spiky bush between four, telling them to put it into a pot and have it watered by the end of the lesson.

The bush was like a very large, prickly cactus. James distinctly heard Lily Evans whisper to Severus Snape, "Oh, so wizards have cacti too, do they?".

"Of course," Snape replied, from where the pair stood - merely a few places down from James, Remus, Sirius and Peter.

James turned back to his friends.

Sirius had gone back to badgering Remus again. "So, what did McGonagall talk to you about?" he asked, the hint of determination in his voice too obvious to miss.

Remus muttered something unintelligible.

"What did you say?"

Remus ducked behind the Spiky bush and busied himself by attacking its roots with a trowel. The plant was surprisingly reluctant to move from its original home. "I said that- that-" Trying to buy himself some more time, he pretended to be having difficulty. "Ouch! This plant - doesn't - seem to - want to - _move_!"

James bent down to help him, while Sirius hovered behind with Peter.

Remus hastily tried to think of a lie and, as the bush finally came free of the soil, he managed to find one. "I said that she...she wanted to talk to me about being late."

James, Peter and Sirius all looked at him.

"But... But you said," began Peter, helping James to stuff the bush into a new pot. It was putting up an enormous fight and kept sprouting spikes whenever it felt threatened. "You said that you weren't in trouble."

"I wasn't," Remus assured him, passing James a sackful of earth. Some of the soil spilt down his front. "Oops!" he brushed it off and glanced back at the others. "She just asked me why we were late. I said it was because we were lost. I think she wanted me to confirm what you told her."

James shook his head, pulling a spike out of his finger and wincing. "Why didn't she keep us all, though?" he asked. "It would've made much more sense to just ask us about it together. Why would she just hold _you_ back?"

"Um..." Remus tried to think of a way around this question. "Maybe Professor McGonagall thought... that I looked like... like..."

"Like the most trustworthy one?" suggested Peter.

Full of relief, Remus took the opportunity. "Well... Yes, maybe."

"Fair enough," shrugged James. "I mean, she doesn't know us very well yet, so maybe it was chance that she picked you."

Peter nodded, but Sirius wasn't convinced.

James nudged him. "Come on, mate, it's not a big deal. Give the bloke a break."

Remus squirmed guiltily and tried to hide behind the bush. It wasn't that he _liked_ lying. He just knew that his friends would reject him if he told them the truth. Like McGonagall said, broadcasting his condition was not a good idea.

Sirius finally gave in. "Oh, all right. Sorry, Remus. It's not like you would lie to us."

Remus winced behind the bush. And it wasn't because of the spikes.

The four of them worked in silence for the next couple of minutes, burying the Spiky bush in the soil until it finally stopped attacking them. Halfway through reaching for a trowel, Peter tripped over and grabbed the bush to stop himself falling.

"Eeeee!" he squealed, toppling into James and waving his hands in agony. "Ooh, ow! Ouch, that _hurts_!"

A large group of Slytherins, including Severus Snape, cackled with laughter at the sight of Peter hopping around. Lily Evans, however, didn't. And nor did Sirius, James or Remus.

"Is everything all right over there?" called Professor Sprout, hurrying over to the four boys.

Peter showed her his cut hands. "I tripped, Professor... And- And... They're _bleeding_!"

The Slytherins laughed harder than ever. "Ooh, ooh, Professor! I'm _bleeding_!" snickered one of them, doing a cruel but accurate impression of Peter's scrunched up face.

Snape smirked. "Mummy, Mummy! I think I'm going to die! The nasty cactus spiked me-"

Remus glared at him. "Don't talk about Peter like that!"

"Why not, Lupin?" sneered Snape. "What're you going to do?"

"What're _you_ going to do?" Sirius interjected, stepping up beside Remus with his fists clenched. "Snivel all over us?"

Snape opened his mouth to retort, but Lily grabbed his arm.

"Don't, Sev. Just leave it, honestly. If they want to start a fight, they can start a fight... But don't join in with them or you'll get in trouble. And you mustn't imitate people like that, either. It's mean."

Looking like he very much wanted to argue with her, Severus made a tutting noise. But he said nothing else and turned away.

Peter looked a bit tearful and Professor Sprout was so immersed in examining his hands that she'd completely missed the Slytherins' behaviour. "They're not deep cuts..." she was muttering. "Just scratches. All the same, I think you'd better go up to the hospital wing, Mr Pettigrew. Get Madam Pomfrey to heal you."

"I'll take him," James offered, thinking that Peter should leave before he suffered any more. He didn't think the Slytherins could hold back their taunts for much longer. And if Peter cried in front of them, they would surely make his life worse.

"Off you go, then," said Professor Sprout, moving around the bench to open the greenhouse door. "I'll leave the classroom open for when you get back. You can collect your things before going to lunch." She nodded at Sirius and Remus, who were still glaring at the Slytherins. "You two can start clearing up if you like. The bell will ring any minute."

On cue, a loud ring sounded through the castle grounds. The rest of the class began to pack away too.

"I want to get revenge on those Slytherins," Sirius snarled, looking darkly back over his shoulder as he and Remus made their way into the Entrance Hall.

"They shouldn't have made fun of Peter," agreed Remus. He strode on ahead of Sirius, heading towards a door that read 'Hospital Wing'. "But let's not make trouble just yet. There are other ways of getting our own back."

Sirius began to think he'd underestimated Remus. "Like what?" he asked.

They pushed open the Hospital Wing's doors. Peter and James could be seen at the other end of the ward, standing next to a matronly-looking witch with a white apron.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Remus slowed down a bit as he approached the other two. "Hi, Peter. How are your hands?"

Peter showed them his mended fingers. There wasn't a single scratch on them. "Much better, thanks!" he said happily. "Madam Pomfrey mended them in seconds."

"That's good." Sirius stooped to watch Madam Pomfrey turn and head back to her office. "Remus and I were just comparing our desires to attack the Slytherins."

James sighed. "Yeah, I'd like revenge too. I don't like _Snivellus_ Snape. I think he's a right git for hanging around with Lily. He doesn't deserve her."

They began the walk to the Great Hall, where lunch was being served. James was still scowling about Snape, something that Remus was quick to notice. He smiled.

"Are you in love with Lily, James?" he teased.

James blushed. "No! Of course not! I just think that she's much too good to be hanging around with... with..." Unfortunately for him, however, he couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

Remus abruptly stopped walking. He peered at James' flushed, embarrassed face. "You are!" he cried triumphantly. "You like her!"

"No, I- I don't-" James protested, but Sirius had already begun to laugh.

"James and Lily, sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

James tried and failed to roll his eyes. He punched Sirius playfully on the arm. "Shut up, you idiot! How old are you? Six?"

Sirius laughed even harder, his bark-like laugh resounding off the Great Hall's walls. They found seats at the Gryffindor table and Peter pointed to a red-haired figure sitting with Frank Longbottom. "Hey, James, look! There's Lily!"

Sirius grinned and nudged his friend. "Yeah, James. You can tell her your feelings _in person_."

"Haven't I just told you to shut up?" said James. He turned to Remus. "This is all your fault, you know. You were the one who shouted that I like her."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you _do_ like her? Do we have a confession?"

James poked him. "Oi!" Then he smiled even more broadly. "I guess you do. You have to admit, she is pretty."

"Pretty what?" asked Sirius, swinging one leg over the bench to sit beside James. Lily, Frank and his friend Alice were a few places down from them.

James shrugged. "Just 'pretty', I guess... Pretty cool, pretty smart, pretty-"

"Pretty dumb to be associating with a slimy jerk like Severus Snape?" Sirius suggested, dumping some food on his plate and beginning to eat.

James laughed. "Something like that."

"I don't really like the Slytherins," said Peter in a small voice, looking down at his hands. He remembered how much they'd hurt earlier when the Slytherins had been laughing at him.

"You know what, Pete?" said Sirius. "Neither do I."

"Me neither," added James. "They're all a load of gits."

Remus cleared his throat. "Er, isn't that a bit... prejudiced?"

Sirius shrugged. "So what?"

Remus said nothing, choosing to focus his gaze on his lunch. As much as he didn't like the Slytherins, he couldn't assume that they were _all_ bad. After all, ambition and cunning weren't bad traits, were they?


	7. In the Library

**\- CHAPTER SEVEN -**

##  _In the Library_

* * *

"I want to get back at the Slytherins," said James suddenly, stopping dead in the middle of the lawn.

They had headed into the grounds after lunch and were walking around, talking idly among themselves. Above the four boys, a watery September sun spoked out from behind a cloud and a light breeze danced around them.

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself," said Sirius bitterly. "You know, if we don't do something now, they'll just think they can carry on walking all over people."

James shrugged, gazing over the grass at the Whomping Willow. "I was thinking of just getting revenge on Snape, actually," he said. "I've already said I don't like him and he's still hanging around with Lily..."

Remus frowned and looked at the Willow too. "So you're going to get revenge just because he's friends with someone you like? Doesn't that sound a bit... spiteful to you?"

Both James and Sirius looked at him.

Remus stepped away from them. "I mean, of course you're _not_ spiteful... I just think that maybe you should find another... another motive for taking it out on Severus."

Sirius pulled a face. "You mean Snivellus?" he said disgustedly.

"I- I- Well... Well, yes."

James considered it for a moment. "Does the fact that he's an arrogant, slimy toerag count?"

In spite of himself, Remus smiled. "Possibly..."

Sirius grinned. "Well, that's settled then. We now have _two_ reasons for hating Snape. Do you need any more?"

Remus bit his lip. "I guess Snape did laugh at Peter. And that wasn't very nice of him-"

Peter nodded, more eager to join in the conversation now he was sure he didn't need to take sides. He didn't want to side with Remus and risk upsetting James and Sirius, but if Remus agreed with them… "He probably deserves to have something horrible happen to him," he said squeakily. "But what can we do?"

James frowned. "It would have to be something humiliating for it to work properly. And it'd have to be impressive..."

"A spell?" Sirius suggested. "Snivellus doesn't know much magic, yet. We could learn something he doesn't and use it against him."

"But what kind of spell?" asked Remus. "We can't use anything too complex... Where will we find something?"

Peter blinked. To him, the answer was obvious. "Um... the library?" he said slowly. "We must be able to find something in there."

James nodded. "You know what, Pete? You're right. The library would be a good place to start." He turned around and strode back the way they'd come. "Hurry up. We can look now if we're quick."

Remus, Sirius and Peter scrambled after him.

"N-now?" asked Remus, as though the idea was ridiculous. "But... But..."

Peter checked his watch, then Sirius grabbed his wrist and checked it too.

"Uh, James?" he said, dropping Peter's arm and ignoring the smaller boy's protests. "James, Peter's watch says it's almost the end of lunch. We're going to be late for History of Magic."

James didn't stop walking. "Since when have you cared about being late?" he called back over his shoulder.

Sirius sighed, dragging Peter and Remus after him. "I was saying it more for Remus' benefit than my own. He's already been late to two classes today. He'll get detention if he's late to another one."

Remus tugged his arm out of Sirius' grip. "Too right, I will. And I don't really want to spend my first day here sitting in a classroom, writing lines."

They reached the Entrance Hall. "We won't be late, I promise," said James as they hurried up the marble staircase. "At least, we won't be if we're quick. Come on!"

Remus sighed. "Oh, all right... But if we _are_ late-"

"If we're late, I'll take the blame," said James firmly. "But I'm ninety per cent sure we won't be."

Peter followed the others down the corridor. "Only ninety? That's not exactly certain, is it? And where _is_ the library, anyway? Do you know where you're going?"

James sped up. "Not really, no. But it must be around here somewhere..." He peered around, hoping to see something that would give him a clue. _Where was the library?_

"We could do with a map, huh?" Sirius joked as they began moving again. "It's annoying being a first-year."

"Yeah," said James, leading the other three down another corridor. "But give it a couple of weeks and we'll know our way around... Hey, look! This must be the right place!"

They came to a halt outside a room full of books. The open door read 'Hogwarts Library' and, below that, a smaller sign bore the words 'Librarian: Irma Pince'.

"What's the time, Pete?" Sirius asked Peter as they moved through the door into the room.

"We have ten minutes left," replied Peter, looking around him.

Remus peered delightedly at the shelves. There were hundreds of books. Thick books and thin books and big books and small books... Books with leather binding, books that were faded and dusty… He couldn't help being amazed.

Sirius nudged him. "Oi, stop gawping, gormless. We'll have time to look another day. I thought you didn't want to be late."

Remus stopped gazing at the books and turned to Sirius with his arms folded. "I'm not 'gormless', thank you very much!"

"Then let's get going then," said Sirius shrugging. "We'll go this way, while James and Peter look over there."

The four boys split up, each heading towards a different section of the library. Peter scurried off to search a shelf behind a group of Ravenclaws, while James checked the row of books two shelves behind. Sirius and Remus looked in the area furthest from the door.

"Let's just find as many books as we can," Sirius told Remus as they moved to opposite ends of the aisle. "We can look through them later."

Remus nodded and the pair of them began to search. By the time the bell rang, signalling the end of break, all four boys had a decent stack of books each, although Remus' pile was the tallest.

"I found some good stuff on hexes," said James, as they hurried out of the library. "At least, I _think_ it's good stuff - I haven't actually read any of the books yet. The titles look good, though."

"Same here," said Remus, holding up a copy of 'Confronting the Faceless'. "And I got this out for a bit of background reading."

"What is it?" asked James curiously.

"A book on Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"It looks complicated."

Remus frowned at the faded cover. "Not really. It's a lot easier to understand if you know the basic principles."

"Do either of you know where the History of Magic classroom is?" interrupted Sirius, who hadn't been listening. "Because, if we don't find it soon, we're going to be late again."

"And I don't think we'll be let off detention this time," added Peter, who was trying to stuff his books into his already-full bag.

"Give it up, mate," James advised him. The bag looked horribly like it was going to split. "I'd just carry those books if I were you."

By some miracle or another, they reached the History of Magic classroom just in time to start the lesson. Frank Longbottom gave the boys a thumbs up as they settled themselves in a row at the back and the girl next to him smiled cheerfully.

James dumped his books in a pile next to his bag, which he hastily kicked under the bed. Next to him, three loud thumps told him Sirius, Remus and Peter had done the same.

History of Magic, however, turned out to be the most boring lesson so far. Professor Binns, their ancient and shrivelled teacher, was a ghost who floated through the blackboard to enter the classroom. His voice was a dull drone and the class soon fell into such stupor that Peter began to doze on Remus' shoulder.

James doodled absently on a piece of parchment, staring across the classroom at Lily Evans' red hair as he did so. Sirius was chewing his quill, while Remus read the last of 'Great Expectations' under the table.

On the other side of the classroom, Frank and his friend Alice were playing Exploding Snap, and Professor Binns hadn't even noticed. The cards kept exploding in a cloud of smoke and sparks, but the teacher still droned on… and on… The only thing he seemed to have attention for was the story of Uric the Oddball and his nemesis, Emeric the Evil.

In fact, James half wondered whether the teacher fully knew they were there.

When the lesson finally ended, the class fled from the classroom as quickly as they could, rubbing their tired eyes and groaning.

"Merlin's beard, that was the dullest thing I've ever had to sit through," James overheard Frank say to his friend as they went to dinner.

"I never want to face that lesson again," agreed Alice, yawning widely. She pushed a dark strand of hair out of her eyes and glanced over her shoulder at the classroom door.

Sirius looked back too. "You'd have thought Binns would've been fired by now," he grumbled as they bolted their food at the Gryffindor table. "His lessons are duller than a bucket of flobberworms."

"I almost fell asleep," said Peter chewing his broccoli.

"I think you _did_ fall asleep, Peter," said Remus. He pulled a page of notes from his bag and examined his own slanting handwriting. "These notes aren't very good. I wasn't listening for the first half of the lesson so none of this makes sense."

"I wasn't listening to _any_ of the lesson," said Sirius. "Why waste your time on something that dull? But it serves you right for reading boring muggle books under the table."

"Boring? Who said the book was boring? Anyway, at least I wasn't just chewing my quill." One-handedly, he tried to keep eating and a cascade of peas rolled over the table.

James brushed some of them off his lap, sighing. "You know, Remus, if you stopped reading your notes and focused on actually eating, maybe you wouldn't keep showering us with vegetables."

Remus looked at the mess he'd made and grimaced. "Sorry," he said, tucking his notes back inside his bag. "I wasn't really concentrating."

"We know," said Peter, who was also pea-spattered. He watched as Remus tried to remove the peas from his pumpkin juice. "So... About those books we got in the library-"

"I haven't looked at them yet," said James and Sirius simultaneously.

Remus finished dealing with the peas. "I've read some of the books before. And my dad taught me a couple of hexes before I got the letter to come here."

Sirius stared at him. "How come you didn't mention that earlier?" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "We wouldn't have had to go to the library then."

Remus shrugged. "They're... not very advanced spells," he said. "They're just things I happen to know. I've never actually used any of them."

"What do they do?" asked James, eagerly leaning forwards.

Remus bit his lip. "Er... I don't know exactly. But I know the general effects. There's one to stop someone speaking. And there's one that'll turn things a different colour..."

Sirius sniggered. "Let's turn the Slytherins' robes orange," he said, imagining the look on Snape's face when he realised his robes had been dyed.

But James cut across him. "Wouldn't they notice, though? Wouldn't they see their robes are orange and tell a teacher? It'd be a waste of a prank."

"He has a point," said Peter reasonably.

"He does," agreed Remus. "And we'll get into trouble."

Sirius sighed. "What can we do then? Do you know any other hexes, Remus?"

Remus stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. "Let's continue this in the common room," he said.

They spent the rest of the evening plotting ways to wreak their revenge. As the evening ticked by, more and more students left the common room and headed for bed until, at last, it was just the four boys and some seventh-years left.

"I can't find anything here that's suitable for a first-year," sighed James, tossing aside 'Curses and Counter Curses' by Professor Vindictus Viridian. It landed lopsided on the growing heap of useless books.

" _This_ book might have something," said Remus, turning a page of 'Practical Defensive Magic: Volume One'. "Except it's aimed at NEWT students. Hang, on, there's information on patronuses in here!"

"Information on what?" asked Peter blankly.

Remus smiled and snapped the book shut. "It's a kind of shield," he explained, "between a wizard and a dementor. A way of stopping your happy memories from being sucked out."

But only one word of this seemed to have registered with Peter. "Dementor?" he squeaked, looking around as though expecting one to jump out from a corner.

"Don't worry, Peter," said James calmly. "Dementors are only allowed to guard Azkaban and, as that's a prison, it's miles away." He turned to Remus. "Can you cast one?"

Remus looked at him in surprise. "A patronus?"

"Yeah."

"No, of course not! That's _incredibly_ advanced magic. Even fully-grown wizards have trouble with that spell."

"You could learn, though, I bet," said Sirius, leafing through another book. He paused, grey eyes widening. "Oi, you lot! I think I've found something."

"What?" The other three turned to him eagerly.

Sirius showed them. "Look. It's a dancing-feet spell. It forces the person to tap dance... And it says it's not advanced."

James sat up very straight. "Ooh," he grinned. "I like the sound of this. Go on. What's your plan?"

"Well, it'd be an interesting spell to perform in the Great Hall at breakfast tomorrow," said Sirius. A very wicked glint was starting to creep into his eyes. "Especially when everyone's watching."

At these words, James' whole face lit up. "It's embarrassing, a spell Snivellus doesn't know _and_ it's amusing!" he said. He laughed to himself and pulled the book out of his friend's hands. "What more could we want?"

Peter twisted his fingers together. "But, if we do it in front of everyone," he began. "Won't it be obvious that we were the ones that did it? I mean-"

"You don't _have_ to come," Sirius told him, folding his arms and staring at Peter. "You can sit well away from us, if you like, and just watch."

Peter flushed. He didn't want to miss the action but, at the same time... He deflated under the glares of Sirius and James. "I- I guess... I guess I'll come."

Remus looked at him. "We're not making you," he said gently. "But if you want to come, you're perfectly welcome to."

James put the book aside and stared at Remus. " _You're_ joining in, then?" he asked, surprised.

Remus fidgeted, his gaze on the floor. "Of course, if you don't want me to help, I won't. I just thought-"

"Are you mad? Of _course_ we want you to stay with us! I just didn't think you'd want to," said James, shaking his head. "I thought you'd be worried about getting in trouble."

"So did I," muttered Sirius. He nudged Remus playfully. "Mr Oh-No-We're-Going-To-Be-Late Lupin."

Remus smiled. "I'll come then," he said. "But first-" he picked up the book again and turned back to the page they'd been looking at "-we need to learn the spell."

Peter leaned over. "How do we do that?" he asked. "We haven't done any magic yet."

Sirius smirked. "How fitting that our first spell is going to be a prank," he said. "I feel like a rebel."

The other three laughed.

"Sirius, your whole family is in Slytherin," James reminded him. "And you're in Gryffindor. I don't think you can get more rebellious than that."

"Not in my parents' eyes, anyway," he agreed.

"So how do we learn the spell?" Peter prompted. "What're we supposed to do?"

Remus traced the diagram, which bore instructions on how to cast the jinx. "It says we have to say ' _Tarantallegra_ ' and point our wands at the person's legs," he said. "It also gives us some tips for getting it right first try. Look."

Sirius skim-read the paragraph, then glanced at the picture. "Looks simple enough," he said, leaning back against the common room wall, with his legs stretched out in front of him.

"No, it doesn't," said Peter worriedly.

James patted him on the shoulder. "Yeah, it does, Pete," he assured him. "And it can't exactly go _too_ wrong, can it? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"The whole room explodes?" suggested Remus.

James grinned. "Exactly. And that's hardly a disaster."

"I think you and I have very different ideas about what classifies as 'a disaster', James," said Remus.

"Yeah, I'd rather not create a giant explosion on my second day at Hogwarts," said Peter.

Remus smiled dryly. "It might set the bar quite high."

Peter laughed, the sound mingling with Sirius' yawn.

"Can we go to bed now?" Sirius asked, stretching and getting to his feet. "I mean, I don't know about you, but we need some sleep if we're going to do this prank."

"Fair enough," said James, standing up too. "Come on, we might have to wake up early tomorrow."

Sirius groaned. "I'm starting to think this prank is a bad idea. I hate waking up early."

"Oh, come on, mate! You were the one that suggested the plan in the first place," James told him as they climbed the stairs to their dormitory. Frank was already asleep in the bed nearest to the door.

They pulled on their pyjamas and climbed into bed, still whispering to each other about the spell they were going to use. James placed his glasses on his bedside table and drifted off to sleep, thinking triumphantly about the look on Snape's face when he started to dance tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy - let me know if there's anything I can improve on :) 
> 
> ~ Lacy


	8. Give and Take

**\- CHAPTER EIGHT -**

##  _Give and Take_

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was a very exciting affair for Peter, James, Remus and Sirius. They left the dormitory in a flurry of laughter and anticipation, wands hidden inside their robes. Peter's face was ever so slightly green, although he would never have admitted it, and Remus too was feeling slightly nervous. Unlike Peter, however, he remained composed and accepted his part willingly. Even if a tiny part of him did dread getting into trouble.

"Remember the incantation," James told Sirius as they passed a group of Hufflepuffs on their way into the Great Hall. "It's _tarantallegra._ And you'll need to get a nice aim, too, or it won't work and you'll look stupid-"

"Thanks for the support, mate," said Sirius sarcastically. They had decided that he would be the one to cast the spell, with James as a backup if necessary. "It's so nice to hear your words of comfort."

James grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," he said. "I just want this to go well."

" _You_ cast the spell, then, if you're so bothered," grumbled Sirius. But he was secretly quite pleased that he had been chosen over the others. "Hey, there's Snivelly!"

The other three looked.

Snape was walking down the aisle between the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables, with Lily Evans at his side. They were both deep in discussion and looked back over their shoulders when they were forced to part. Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, next to Frank and Alice, opposite a couple of other first-year girls that James didn't know.

He glanced at Sirius. "Shall we do it now? Before Snivellus sits with the rest of his house?" Sirius nodded and pulled his wand from inside his robes, gripping it so hard that his knuckles were white. "Yeah. Sure thing." He watched Snape approach the wall of green and silver that was the Slytherin table. "C'mon."

The four boys strode, with James and Sirius in the lead, towards the place where Snape stood. Peter and Remus trailed a little behind, not entirely certain what to do with themselves. Peter was gnawing his lip so hard that it had begun to bleed. He didn't think this was a good idea. If the spell went right, everything would be fine. But if it went wrong... And there were so many things that could go wrong.

"Oi, Snivellus!" James called, once Snape was within earshot. At least half the hall turned to look at them. Snape had paused right beside the Slytherin table and was looking at James with obvious disgust. "Did you run out of shampoo this morning? Because your hair looks like it could do with a wash."

A couple of people watching sniggered.

Snape flushed deeply. "Shut up, Potter. I do _not_ need a wash."

Sirius, grinning broadly, nudged James. "You're right, Snivelly. You don't need a wash. You need at least _four_ if you ask me."

Several more sniggers ran through the hall.

Severus Snape's face turned an ugly shade of beet red. He balled his fists by his sides and glared at the four boys. "How dare you, Black!"

"Truth hurts," retorted Sirius, his eyes burning with malicious hatred. "Now, we have something to say to you."

Sneering slightly, Snape glanced down at the wand clutched in Sirius' outstretched hand. He took a step back, however, when he saw what it was aimed at. "Oh, yeah? And what's that?"

"Ready?" James whispered to Sirius.

Sirius nodded. Behind the other two, Remus shifted uncomfortably. Peter sucked his bleeding lip.

"Just one word," said Sirius quietly. The whole hall was watching him now, even the teachers. Thankfully, however, strict Professor McGonagall wasn't present.

Trying to keep his hand steady, Sirius pointed his wand at Snape's legs and cried, " _tarantallegra_!"

There was a deafening bang, and several people screamed. Peter yelled and jumped backwards, dragging Remus with him.

Instead of being forced into a tap dance, Severus was thrown backwards into some Slytherin fourth-years, who swore as he landed on top of them.

Sirius glanced down at his wand in horror. Why hadn't the spell worked? True, they hadn't practised it beforehand, but it wasn't _that_ complicated, surely? The book had said that it was suitable for first-years...

Beside Sirius, James took a step forwards, ready to cast the spell himself. But Remus grabbed his arm.

"No, don't," he hissed. "It might go even more wrong. Anyway, it'll look stupid if you try it a second time. Just act like you meant to do it and no one will notice."

James nodded and lowered his wand. "All right. Fair enough. I guess we've-"

Peter gasped. A Slytherin prefect had stood up and moved in front of them.

"Well, well, well," sneered the drawling voice of a tall, blonde-haired boy. His narrow, pointed features were twisted with spite. "If it isn't little Sirius Black and his group of pathetic first-year friends."

Sirius glared at him. "Shove off, Malfoy!"

"Watch your language, Black, or you might find yourself in detention. You see, I - unlike you - am a prefect and I have the power to strip you of certain-"

"We all know what you can and can't do, you big-headed git," snarled Sirius, not afraid of Malfoy in the slightest.

Lucius Malfoy's voice suddenly became deadly cold. "Don't you dare address me like that, Black. You should be ashamed of the way you've turned out." He turned to take in James, Remus and Peter, who were standing there frozen. His lip curled.

Sirius stood his ground.

"You know, I would've thought that even _you_ would know better than to hang around with riff-raff like this. The Potters are almost blood-traitors, the way they behave. And your other friends..." Malfoy's cold eyes lingered on Peter's trembling form and Remus' scarred face. "Your other friends can hardly be any better, can they?"

"Be quiet," said James softly, glaring at Malfoy with the same hatred he'd shown Snape. "You're just a-"

"Careful, Potter, or I really will give you detention."

Unable to contain himself, Remus snorted.

Malfoy's gaze fell on him. "Think my status is funny, do you?" he whispered nastily. He looked Remus up and down. "And who are you? Some unworthy brat of a muggle?"

Remus took a step forwards. He should have been terrified, but he wasn't. "So what if I am? My father works for the Ministry."

"Wait a second..." Lucius' eyes narrowed as he did some serious thinking. "I know who you are. You're Lyall Lupin's son, aren't you? He works in the Beast department. Trying to protect the filth that litters the wizarding world, like Mudbloods and vampires and werewolves-"

"Pardon?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "Did you just include muggleborns in that list?"

Malfoy smirked. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I? But, of course, your mother's a muggle, isn't she? I suppose you're a muggle-lover like the rest of the wizarding world? Wasting your time trying to teach wizards that scum is acceptable-"

"Malfoy," said Remus very quietly. "I suggest you stop talking now, or I'll-" He broke off mid-sentence.

"Go on," said Malfoy, looking delighted. "Going to duel me, are you? All right then, but I can't guarantee you'll survive it." He raised his wand and pointed it at Remus, at the same time as James and Sirius stepped in front of him...

BANG!

The next thing anyone knew, Lucius Malfoy was flying through the air. He landed with a loud thump several meters away, his sleek blonde hair falling all over his face.

There was a very stunned silence.

Remus Lupin stood stock-still with his arm outstretched, his wand pointing straight at Malfoy.

James, Sirius and Peter all stared at him. So did Malfoy.

Very calmly, not taking his eyes off the crumpled figure in front of him, Remus tucked his wand back into his robes and pushed a strand of brown hair out of his eyes. He didn't seem at all perturbed by what had just happened. Even though the rest of the Great Hall was in shock.

"What did you do-?" began James. But before he could get any further, there was a loud clucking noise and he looked back to see Malfoy lying on the ground, covered in feathers and chicken excrement.

The spell seemed to have kicked in properly.

Someone at the Hufflepuff table whistled loudly, then a couple of Ravenclaws began to clap. James grinned at the handful of Slytherins that were also clapping, then turned to congratulate Remus, but a stern voice interrupted him.

"What's going on in here?"

James' stomach dropped to the floor. The whole Hall fell silent.

Professor McGonagall waited until she was standing right behind the four boys before speaking again. "Boys, what are you doing? Are you responsible for all this noise? Why is Mr Malfoy lying on the floor? And what-" she caught sight of Snape, still slumped against the table. " What have you done to this other boy?"

Another teacher came down from the staff table, looking just as disapproving as McGonagall. "Minerva, there seems to have been some sort of attack," he said, pushing grey-streaked hair off his face. "These boys tried to cast a spell on a Slytherin first-year, then Mr Malfoy cornered them. From what it looked like, Professor, he was threatening them-"

Professor McGonagall held up a hand to silence her colleague. "Octavius, please take this Slytherin to see Madam Pomfrey." She gestured at Snape, who was being held upright by the fourth-years he'd fallen on top of. "Then return to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I will take care of this."

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor left immediately, helping Snape up and throwing a searching look at James, Remus, Sirius and Peter as he supported him out of the hall.

From the ground, Lucius Malfoy groaned. A couple of chicken feathers fell off him and drifted to the floor.

McGonagall pursed her lips at him. "Mr Malfoy, go back to your common room and clean yourself up. You'll be fine once you've got all the... the... the _droppings_ off."

Sirius sniggered as Malfoy picked himself up off the floor and headed for the exit, moving clumsily between the house tables. At the double doors, he tripped and fell over, crawling the rest of the way amid laughs from the watching students.

Once Malfoy was out of sight, the Transfiguration Professor turned to the four boys. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

They all shook their heads. Peter's stomach gave a tremendous rumble and he blushed.

"Well, I suggest you get something to eat before coming to my office. I need you to explain what happened. Attacking a fellow first-year! What were you thinking?" McGonagall straightened her square spectacles then swept off, still muttering under her breath.

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus glanced at each other.

"You realise she didn't even mention what we did to Malfoy," said Sirius in an undertone as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. A couple of curious people were still watching them.

"I know," said James. He helped himself to some toast. "We'd better get a move on, though. Eat quickly or we'll get into even more-"

"I can't believe you did that to Snape!" said a male voice from behind them. Frank Longbottom was standing there, looking both shocked and impressed. "That was… That was _incredible_."

James couldn't help grinning. No matter what trouble they were about to face, their triumph over Snape made everything else worth it. "Cheers. But the thing with Malfoy was better."

Frank grinned too and cast an admiring look Remus' way. "I know! What spell was that? It was awesome, honestly. I didn't know you knew magic. I don't know _any_ spells yet... "

Remus felt his cheeks burn and he attempted to hide behind his fork.

Sirius gave him a poke. "It's not a bad thing, mate," he said. "You don't have to hide."

"Yeah," said Frank. "You don't. I'm super impressed, honestly."

Remus smiled awkwardly. "I don't think McGonagall is, though. I don't think she's the sort to approve of fights."

"Don't worry," said James, chewing his toast as fast as he could. "She seemed more annoyed about the Snape thing than what you did to Malfoy. I don't think she'll punish you too severely."

"No," agreed Sirius. "But Malfoy might attack you. He's not going to be happy. You made a fool of him in front of the entire school, Remus."

"Ah, well. He was being rude about muggleborns. He deserved it. And I guess he can't do too much to us without risking losing his prefect badge," James told Remus.

Frank nodded. "You should report him. I heard the things he said and he used the 'M' word. He definitely shouldn't be allowed to get away with that."

"No, he shouldn't," Peter chimed in. "We'll tell McGonagall when we're in her office. And, technically, he _did_ try to attack us first."

"But we attacked Snape," said Remus anxiously. "Which was the reason Malfoy stood up. He was doing his duty as a prefect, but we were just... just..."

James shook his head and stood up. "Don't be silly. We hexed Snivellus because he was horrible to Peter. So it's Snape's fault that we attacked him. He started this whole thing. It's not our problem."

Remus didn't look too convinced, but he followed James and the others out of the Great Hall, with Frank trailing along behind them.

"Where's McGonagall's off- ?" began Sirius, but before he could complete the word 'office', Professor McGonagall herself had come striding towards them from the marble staircase.

"Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew," she said crisply, ignoring Peter's flinch. "To my office immediately, please." She glanced at Frank. "There is no need for you to come too, Mr Longbottom. If you would like to return to Gryffindor Tower..."

Frank hurried away, casting a sympathetic glance back over his shoulder at the others.

James tried hard to avoid the professor's gaze as she led them up the marble staircase and along a corridor. What if they _did_ get in a lot of trouble? Surely it would be his fault if the others got punished? He'd been the one to suggest they took revenge on Snape, after all.

They reached a door with a small sign reading 'M. McGonagall' on it. Professor McGonagall held it open for them as the four boys filed past her into the office and stood in a line in front of the numerous bookshelves.

Once they were all inside, she closed the door, turned around and glared at them with sharp eyes. "Please explain why you four though it would be a good idea to hex a fellow student, in the middle of the Great Hall at breakfast."

For a couple of seconds, they all just looked at each other. Peter had backed so far into the wall that he looked as though he was trying to melt through it. Remus' hands were shaking and even Sirius couldn't look bored this time.

"We..." James finally began, glancing guiltily at the floor. "We- I mean, _I_ \- I thought it would stop Snape from being rude to people."

Professor McGonagall's lips thinned even more. "Do you mean to tell me that you couldn't have told a teacher about Mr Snape's behaviour? You couldn't have come to me if he was provoking you?"

"Erm..." One glance at the other three told them that they hadn't thought of that either. Now that McGonagall had said it, it did seem like the obvious thing to have done.

"That," she said curtly, "was a very foolish mistake to make. In what way did Mr Snape provoke you?"

James launched into an explanation, telling McGonagall exactly what happened in Herbology. By the time he'd finished, the professor's eyebrows were almost touching her hairline and she looked very serious.

"I see," she said finally, sitting down behind her desk. She shifted a couple of papers aside, then looked at the four boys again. "Thank you for telling me this, Mr Potter. Now, what exactly did you attempt to do to Mr Snape? I assume it failed; you cannot have learned enough magic yet to be able to do much damage."

Another explanation was necessary. But this time it was Sirius who told McGonagall about combing the library for a decent spell, about finding the dancing-feet jinx and deciding to use it against Snape. He explained how he had tried to cast the spell at breakfast and how it had merely caused Snape to fall.

At this, Professor McGonagall gave him a stern glare. "I hope you realise exactly how easily you could've given Mr Snape an injury," she said. "Not only could the spell have gone even more badly than it did, but you could also have hurt him when he fell backwards. And you didn't stop once to practice the spell? You didn't bother to consider the fact that you are mere novices in magic and on your second day at school?"

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus all stared at the floor, each feeling ashamed of themselves in varying degrees.

"Yeah, maybe we should've practised first," said James after another pause, glancing up at the other three. "We didn't think, professor. The whole thing was... was unplanned and stupid." McGonagall had a point, he thought miserably; if they were going to attack a student, they might as well have done it properly.

Professor McGonagall sniffed and shifted some more of her papers. "Thank you, Mr Potter. The fact that you have acknowledged your stupidity is a comfort... May I ask what role Mr Malfoy had in this?" She glanced at Remus, who had been silent the whole time. "I believe you were the one who ended up covering him in feathers?"

In spite of himself, Remus smiled. "Er... Yes, Professor," he said. "I'm sorry. He stood up after we used the spell on Severus. He didn't exactly tell us off for what we'd done, which was a bit surprising, to be honest. Instead, he started saying... not very nice stuff about Sirius." Remus threw his friend an apologetic glance as he continued. "Malfoy said that Sirius was wrong to associate with people like us because we're 'blood traitors' and muggleborns and... and..."

Professor McGonagall heard the unsaid 'halfbreeds' in his silence.

Remus took a breath and carried on speaking. "He used the 'M' word, too, Professor. And I got a bit… angry. I told him that he shouldn't say those things... But Malfoy just laughed. He asked me if I was going to duel him and pulled out his wand. And then... I hexed him," he finished lamely.

Professor McGonagall looked more disgusted at the idea of Lucius Malfoy calling someone 'mudblood' than angry at what the boys had done. She shook her head a couple of times, her lips pressed tightly in a line. Then she turned back to Remus. "Which spell did you use on him?"

Remus blushed slightly " _Calvesco Pullum_ ," he said quietly. "It was the first thing I could think of."

To the four boys' surprise, Professor McGonagall's lips twitched. She looked thoughtfully at Remus, then asked, "Where did you learn that spell, Mr Lupin?"

"Um... My dad taught it to me," he admitted. "Before I came to Hogwarts. I was reading one day and I came across it. I didn't know what it was, so I asked my dad about it and he told me. I've never actually used it, though."

"It's a very unusual spell," McGonagall remarked, her eyebrows knitting together. "And it's the sort of thing that your father _would_ know about. Lyall Lupin always had a soft spot for obscure jinxes. I'm not surprised that he taught some of them to you. They can come in very handy when duelling." A faint smile flickered over her lips as she looked at them all. Then she sat upright again. "Very well, you four. Although you have broken the rules twice in two days, I cannot say that I'm not impressed by what you did to Mr Malfoy - that spell is a difficult one to pull off at the best of times, let alone in first-year. I shall award ten points to Gryffindor and you shall not receive a detention."

The four of them held their breath. Could luck really get them out of this?

McGonagall carried on, in a slightly more serious tone. "I will, however, be taking five points off Gryffindor for the attack on Mr Snape. He did do wrong by insulting you, Mr Pettigrew-" Peter tried to back away into the wall again. "-But it is not your duty to hand out punishments to students who fail to toe the line. I will speak to Professor Slughorn, who is head of Slytherin house, about his students' unacceptable behaviour - especially that of Mr Malfoy, who should know better."

James' spirits lifted. They weren't in too much trouble, after all! They'd only lost a couple of points and they could win those back easily. Although, of course, he'd only been worried for Remus and Peter's benefit.

Finally, Professor McGonagall stood up. She strode to the office door and held it open. "You may go to your classes now. Please don't ever let me catch you doing such a stupid thing again."

"We won't," chorused the four boys as they left the room, glancing back at the neat office and tartan furniture as they did so.

With a soft click, the door swung shut behind them.

Remus breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought we'd had it then. I never want to do anything like that again. That's twice we've disappointed Professor McGonagall now and she isn't the kind of person who likes being disobeyed."

"It wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be," said Sirius, leading the way down the corridor. They had Charms first, with a teacher called Professor Flitwick. "I mean, she was actually impressed by your spell, Remus. Maybe if we'd mastered the other one properly, we wouldn't have lost any points at all!"

James laughed. "Maybe. But I don't think she'd have approved of what we did, no matter how it turned out."

"She'd have told us not to get revenge on people," said Peter, nodding.

"Ah, well," said Sirius. "We got our revenge anyway. McGonagall said she'd talk to Slughorn and we hexed two Slytherins. That's not a bad outcome, considering."

The others nodded and came to a halt outside the Charms classroom. Frank and Alice came hurrying over to greet them.

"Hi, you four. How did it go in McGonagall's office? You're not in trouble are you?"

James grinned and shook his head, rumpling up his dark hair to keep it messy. He'd just noticed Lily Evans glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Nope. Well, we lost a couple of points... But we gained more than we lost, so it's not a big deal."

The girl called Alice looked very surprised. "You _gained_ points?" she asked, her eyes wide. "McGonagall actually _gave_ you some points?"

Sirius shrugged. "Yeah. She said we shouldn't have attacked Snivellus, but she was kind of impressed by Remus' spell."

"So was I," said Frank. "And who's 'Snivellus'?"

"Snape," Sirius explained, just as Professor Flitwick came hurrying out to meet them.

The professor was tiny, barely three feet tall, with wispy silver hair and a very squeaky voice. He ushered the class inside and hurried to his desk, where he was forced to stand on a pile of books to see over the top. The first thing he did, once they were all settled, was call the register. Then he picked up his wand and tapped the blackboard. Writing appeared on its surface and he spent the first part of the lesson explaining how Charms worked.

The lesson was the noisiest one yet, and the second half of it was dedicated to practising incantations and wand-movement - without wands.

The pupils were each told to pretend their finger was their wand and to put it in the air. Then Professor Flitwick stood at the front of the class, crying random spells and instructing them all to copy. Several members of the class were a little too enthusiastic with their 'wand-waving', Peter included. James got poked in the eye multiple times, even though he was wearing glasses.

"Sorry, sorry!" gasped Peter, the fourth time this happened. "I'm not doing it on purpose, I just-"

"It's all right," muttered James, rubbing his sore eye to stop it from watering. "But please try a bit harder to stop yourself."

After Charms, they had Defence Against the Dark Arts, which the whole of Gryffindor had been looking forward to.

Octavius Oden, their teacher, was a strange man, with silvery eyes that went in and out of focus. From the moment they walked into his classroom, he was hurrying around, frantically looking for his wand which he seemed to have mislaid. After about ten minutes of searching, he finally remembered where he'd put it: in the top drawer of his desk. Then he apologised for the awkward start to the lesson, sat down and took the register.

"He's not very definite, is he?" James whispered to Sirius, who he had sat next to. "I wonder what he's like at teaching?"

But Professor Oden turned out to be a very good teacher, despite his forgetfulness. He seemed to be able to remember everything one minute, then forget it the next. Twice he lost the board rubber and forgot that he had a wand; he spent a long time fretting that he couldn't wipe the blackboard clean before Frank pointed out that he could just use magic.

"Oh, yes. Sorry," muttered the professor, going pink in the face as he wiped the board with a flick of his wand.

By this time, half the class were suppressing giggles.

All in all, however, their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson was a success, even if they did have to keep reminding their teacher that he was a wizard. Professor Octavius was perfectly good at remembering names and spells, and it seemed to be the more mundane things that he forgot. He took a shine to Remus when he found out that Remus could answer every question thrown at him and had, by the end of the lesson, awarded Gryffindor a total of twenty points.

"How did you know all that stuff?" James asked Remus as they left the classroom and headed out into the grounds. After break, they were to have their second Transfiguration lesson.

"Oh, I don't know _that_ much," mumbled Remus, trying desperately not to sound like a know-it-all. "I just happen to know... some things."

"Well, it's an awful lot of things," said Sirius, clapping Remus on the back. "You could take over from the teacher."

Remus laughed and turned to Peter. "Do you know what the time is, Pete?"

Peter huffed. "Do any of you have your own watches?" he said, sighing. "Am I your walking, talking clock?"

James grinned. "Yep. I think you are. But I haven't bothered to find my watch yet. It's at the bottom of my trunk."

"And I'm not wearing mine; it has the Black family crest on it," grumbled Sirius. "I'd look like a right idiot."

"You manage that on your own, mate!" teased James as Peter gave in and checked his watch.

Sirius rolled his eyes, laughing his usual bark-like laugh. He pushed his dark hair out of his eyes.

"We've got ages until the end of break," Peter announced. "So what're we going to do?"

"Beat up Snivellus?" suggested Sirius.

"I think we've done enough of that for one day," said Remus firmly.

"Let's explore!" said James, delighted at the idea. "The castle's huge and we don't even know where we're going half the time..."

"Ooh, there might be secret passageways," exclaimed Remus, who - like James - was hardly able to contain himself.

Sirius and Peter stood up very straight. "Well, what are we waiting for?" cried Sirius. "Where shall we go first?"

"The grounds?" Peter suggested. "The lake looks pretty... We could go there."

Sirius and James ignored him.

"How about the Forbidden Forest?" said James in an excited whisper. "I heard there's all sorts of creatures in there, like centaurs and acromantula and werewolves-"

But Remus stamped on that idea. "Uh, clue's in the title," he said dryly. "The _Forbidden_ Forest. As in, the forest that you're _not supposed to go in._ Probably because it's... um... _dangerous_."

Sirius groaned. "It can't be _that_ dangerous."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "What, with its giant, human-eating spiders and murderous beasts? No, it can't be dangerous _at all_..."

"Oh, all right, we've got the point," said Sirius, folding his arms. They had stopped walking about ten yards from a small, wooden cabin.

"So, not the Forbidden Forest then?" asked James, scrunching up his forehead to think.

"The lake?" Peter suggested hopefully.

"No, that's boring," said James. He glanced around and saw the hut. "Hang on... What's in that house? D'you reckon someone lives there?"

The others followed his gaze. "Probably Hagrid," said Remus, watching a trickle of smoke unfurl from the mossy chimney. "He is the gamekeeper, after all."

"Shall we go and visit?" asked Sirius, already starting towards the cabin's front door. He knocked hard on the wood and the sound of muffled barking greeted them, followed by a scrabble of claws.

Hagrid's voice rang out from somewhere inside. "Get back, Fang... Back, yeh lazy dog..." He threw open the front door and the boys were faced with a tangle of beard and his vast, hairy body.

"Hi, Hagrid," said James loudly, grinning broadly at the surprised look on the gamekeeper's face. "We're first-years. You probably don't know who we are, do you?"

Hagrid smiled under his bushy brown beard, his beetle-black eyes crinkling at the corners. "No, I don't," he said cheerfully. "But I recognise yeh a bit from the firs' night."

"I'm James," said James, as Hagrid stood back to let them inside. "James Potter."

Hagrid's eyebrows shot up. "Potter, eh?" he said, closing the door behind them. Immediately, the large black boarhound - who Hagrid quickly introduced as 'Fang' - came bounding up to them and started licking their ears. "Yeh father'll be Fleamont Potter, then?" asked Hagrid, pulling Fang off by the collar. "Inventor of' tha' haircare potion everyone's bin goin' on about?"

"Sleekeazy's Haircare Potion," James corrected him automatically. "And, yes, he is my dad."

"Interestin'," said Hagrid. He pulled out some chairs at the large wooden table. "An' who are the others?"

"I'm Sirius," said Sirius at once, holding out his hand for Hagrid to shake. He winced slightly as Hagrid shook his whole arm with one of his dustbin-lid-sized hands. "Sirius Black. But I'm not like the rest of my family, I swear."

Hagrid looked him up and down, taking in his Gryffindor robes. "I s'pose not," he said at last, turning to put the kettle on. "Yeh must be the firs' Black teh be put in Gryffindor in... Well, it could be forever."

"I'm Remus Lupin, Hagrid," said Remus quietly, smiling as Hagrid offered him his hand. "And this is Peter Pettigrew."

"Know yer father too," grunted Hagrid to Remus, as the kettle billowed thick clouds of white steam. "Great with dark creatures, he is. I never knew the Pettigrews so much, though. I've heard o' them occasionally..." He passed them all a hot mug of tea and they sat down gratefully to drink it.

Peter chose that moment to look around the cabin. It was clearly built as a one-roomed house. A large, brightly-quilted bed stood in one corner and several hams had been hung from the ceiling. In the left corner, there sat a basket of wool (Hagrid evidently enjoyed knitting) and next to it was...

"Hagrid, what's that?" James asked suddenly, pointing at a wooden crate between the knitting and the table. It was shivering slightly and kept emitting a strange buzzing sound, like a swarm of angry bees.

Hagrid glanced at the spot James was looking at. "Oh, tha'," he said vaguely, waving an enormous hand. "Tha's just a crate o' Doxies. I got 'em a couple o' days ago, jus' before term started. I've bin hatching them."

Remus' eyes widened. "A crate of _Doxies_ , Hagrid?" he asked, peering apprehensively at the crate. If he looked closely, he could just make out a flurry of dark shapes buzzing around within. "Hagrid, you do know that Doxies are venomous, don't you? You're going to have to be careful if you let them out the crate."

Hagrid chuckled. "Like father, like son," he said cheerfully, turning his back on the Doxy crate and smiling at Remus through his beard. "An' I know they're venomous. I got a bottle o' Doxycide in me cupboard." He took a swig from his enormous mug of tea, then looked at them thoughtfully. "How're yeh findin' Hogwarts?" he asked. "Been getting teh yer classes all right?"

"No," said Sirius at once. "We were late to our first lesson. Then Remus was late for Herbology. But we've enjoyed Hogwarts so far."

Hagrid grunted. "Well, that's something, I s'pose. It's always hard findin' yer way in the firs' week. But it'll get easier, I can promise yeh."

"How did _you_ find Hogwarts, Hagrid?" asked Peter timidly, watching Fang, who was drooling all over his knees.

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably and glanced towards the back door, where a flowery pink umbrella had been propped. "I- Well, teh tell the truth, I was... I was expelled from Hogwarts in me third year."

Remus gasped. "You were _expelled_?" he gasped. "But why?"

Hagrid shifted again and raised his voice. "Look, It's nearly the end o' break. Yeh'd better get goin' teh yer next lesson. It was nice ter meet yeh, but I'll see yeh another time." He stood up and they took the hint to leave, bidding Hagrid goodbye as they began the walk up to the castle.

"I wonder what he _was_ expelled for," said James thoughtfully. "I'll write to Dad and ask him. Maybe he'll know."

But Mr Potter didn't know. His answer arrived two days later as the first-years sat down for breakfast.

_Dear James,_

_Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor. And I'm glad you've made some new friends._

_No, I don't know why Rubeus Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts, although I seriously don't think you should start trying to find out. Unless Hagrid wants to tell you, you don't have the business to know._

_Your mother has asked me to tell you to wash your underwear-_

"Urgh, Mum!" said James, when he read this to the others.

Sirius laughed.

_-and make sure you put on clean socks. I doubt the other boys will thank you for stinking the place out._

_Have a great rest of the week._

_Lots of love,_

_Dad (and Mum)._

_PS: Don't think I haven't noticed that my invisibility cloak's gone missing!_

James finished reading, grinned and shook his head at the others. "Oh, well. Dad won't use the cloak, anyway. It'd just be gathering dust if I'd left it at home."

"You've got an invisibility cloak?" asked Remus, impressed.

James nodded. "Well, yeah. Kind of. It's my dad's at the moment, but he says he'll give it to me eventually. I brought it with me, without him knowing… Although I guess he knows now."

"Wow, said Remus, who was busy writing a letter to his own parents, something he'd completely forgotten to do until James' letter reminded him.

"Aren't invisibility cloaks really rare?" Peter asked, watching James fold up the letter and tuck it neatly into his pocket.

"Yeah," said James. "They are. Our one's been in my family for ages."

"We can use it for sneaking around the castle!" said Sirius, shovelling scrambled egg into his already-bulging mouth. He chewed for a couple of minutes, then swallowed. "Or playing tricks on people."

"We could even use it to spy on conversations," said James, equally as excitedly.

A couple of late owls swooped overhead, delivering mail to their owners.

"Or we could-" But James stopped speaking very suddenly. A handsome screech owl was flying towards them, with something large and red in its beak.

Everyone looked around to see who the red letter was for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with me :) I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you think if you have a spare minute - your opinions help me to learn and grow as a writer. 
> 
> See you! 
> 
> ~ Lacy


	9. What Does a Squid Eat?

**\- CHAPTER NINE -**

##  _What Does a Squid Eat?_

"Oh, Merlin," Remus whispered, watching in terror as the screech owl soared closer and closer over the heads of the murmuring students.

Every other person of wizard descent was looking at the envelope with similar expressions.

Sirius suddenly felt as though a very large piece of scrambled egg had lodged itself in his windpipe. He knew exactly who the owl was going to deliver the letter to and he didn't know how to prevent it. He watched, horrified, with everyone else as the owl flew the last couple of meters… And landed directly in front of him.

Peter squealed so zealously that he fell backwards off the bench and slopped orange juice all down his front.

James looked from Sirius to the red envelope. "Is that a-? Is that a _Howler_?" he whispered as Sirius simply sat there, gazing at the envelope in his hand. It was quivering rather ominously and tendrils of smoke had begun to curl out of the sides. "Open it," he urged. "Just open it quickly. It'll be over soon."

Sirius did as he was told, fingers numb and clumsy.

"What's a Howler?" James heard Lily Evans whisper to the girl sitting next to her. But nobody answered. Lily would know soon enough.

As Sirius finally tugged open the envelope, silence descended, a silence so profound that it almost seemed solid. Every single person in the Hall was waiting, their eyes fixed on Sirius. And then a scream ripped the silence. Sirius' mother's voice was issuing from the envelope, magnified a thousand times so that it resounded off the walls and caused several people to stuff their fingers in their ears.

"-FILTH, HALFBREEDS, SCUM! BLOOD TRAITORS, MUDBLOODS AND VERMIN! AND MY OWN SON HAS JOINED THEIR RANKS LIKE SOME COMMON GOBLIN! HOW DARE YOU? HOW _DARE_ YOU BRING SHAME ON THE FAMILY? I AM DISGUSTED BY YOU! YOUR FATHER GOT THE NEWS LAST NIGHT - NARCISSA WROTE TO HIM. I NOTICE _SHE_ HASN'T DISGRACED US ALL BY BEING SORTED INTO A HOUSE OF-"

"No," muttered Sirius, casting a scathing look at the Slytherin table. " _Darling_ Narcissa, with her dainty pureblood ways and her perfect manners..."

" -YOU SHOULD BE SETTING A BETTER EXAMPLE TO YOUR BROTHER, YOU UNWORTHY TRAITOR, YOU REVOLTING LITTLE HAG, YOU FILTHY PIECE OF-!" But Walburga Black's last words were drowned by a storm of laughing from the Slytherin table. Apparently, Narcissa and her friends found the situation too hilarious for words.

James saw Lucius Malfoy slump over on the table, banging his fist and howling with mirth. He rolled his eyes. _It wasn't even funny._ He didn't think Malfoy would be laughing if _he'd_ been sent a Howler.

As the letter finally exploded into ashes, Sirius stared glumly at his plate of scrambled eggs, wishing more than anything that he could sink into the floor and never be looked at again. He didn't know whether to feel miserable or angry. Something heavy seemed to have lodged itself in his stomach, writhing around and twisting his gut… Peter, Remus and James were looking at him too, their eyes filled with sympathy and concern.

But Sirius turned away from them, unable to face their expressions. He didn't want their pity. It wasn't like they could give him a new family, one that loved him and cared for him and didn't mind that he was in Gryffindor.

Over at the Slytherin table, Malfoy was still laughing, imitating the voice of Walburga between evil-sounding snorts. Hatred burned like fire in Sirius' stomach. He turned back to his own table, keeping his eyes on his abandoned plate of egg, trying to seem cool and unbothered...

"Sirius?" James had spoken first, his voice low, unable to watch his friend any longer. "Are you all right?"

Sirius said nothing, his eyes prickling. Then a hand, cool and slightly scarred, found its way to his shoulder.

"Come on, Sirius. Let's get out of here."

Obediently, Sirius rose, not looking at anyone, even though he could feel stares on the back of his head. Peter's small figure bobbed in front of him, slightly blurred, leading the way out of the Hall while James and Remus hovered on either side.

"Let's find somewhere quiet," said Remus to James, once they were safely out of sight. His hand stayed on Sirius' shoulder all the way up the stairs, only lifting when they'd taken refuge in an empty classroom on the first floor. Then he slid onto a graffitied desk and watched Sirius closely.

James and Peter settled themselves on the floor.

For a good ten minutes, none of them spoke. Finally, Sirius looked up. "Thank you."

"For what?" asked James in surprise, studying his friend's pale face.

"For not hating me for who I am."

"Why would we hate you for who you are? We're your friends."

"Yeah, well." Sirius sighed. "I'm a Black, aren't I? No matter what you say, nothing can erase the fact I'm a manic pureblood who-"

Remus' quiet voice interrupted him. "Blood isn't everything."

"No. But it still defines who you are."

"It doesn't. Blood is blood. Water is water. This desk-" Remus tapped the wood beneath him, his eyes fixed on Sirius' "-is just a desk. It doesn't matter that it's been drawn on. It's still a goddamned desk."

Despite himself, Sirius smiled at the steely note in Remus' voice, the way his eyes burned with fury. "You're getting pretty worked up about a desk, Rems."

"He's right, though," said James. "Your name's just a name. We'll be your family from now on. You don't have to be alone."

A real smile spread across Sirius' face, chasing the clouds from his eyes. "What, so you're going to adopt me?"

"Yes," said James, standing up. He moved over to where Sirius sat on the desk opposite Remus and placed both hands on his shoulders, staring into his eyes. "Sirius Black- Wait, what's your middle name again?"

"Orion," said Sirius, grinning.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." James cleared his throat. "Sirius Orion Black, from now on, you are a member of the Potter household. Stuff the adoption papers because I can't be bothered to sign them. You're now my son. Peter can be your other dad… and Remus- Well, Remus can be your cousin or something. The point is, your ours. Are we clear?"

The grin stretched even wider. "Clear as crystal."

There was a long pause, while James gazed solemnly into Sirius' eyes, fighting to keep a straight face. Then Sirius burst out laughing, sending Remus and Peter into fits of giggles too. James cracked last, doubling up and shaking his head.

"I was trying to take this seriously, you know," he choked, wiping his eyes. "I was trying to make you see that we care about you. But this is just - too - funny!"

"Your face was so serious," laughed Remus. " _So_ serious."

"Don't you mean 'Sirius'?" asked Sirius and they all started to laugh again.

By the time they'd calmed down, Sirius actually felt cheerful. Maybe everything would be all right. Maybe he could live without his parents. Maybe they weren't worth caring about.

"Cheers, guys."

James clapped him on the shoulder. "No problem."

"Howlers suck," sighed Peter, staring at the floor. "I'd hate to have been you earlier."

"Yeah," agreed James. "It's one thing to have done something wrong, but when a dirty great envelope turns up and starts screaming at you…"

"It's horrible," finished Remus with a shudder. "Sometimes I envy the muggles."

"Me too," said James. "And your mum was _really_ loud."

"Yeah, well, she's had a lot of practice," said Sirius grimly. He got off the desk and made for the door, gesturing for the others to follow him. "C'mon. We'd better get going or we'll be late for Potions." Even though he knew his parents hadn't finished with him yet, Sirius refused to think about the Howler all the way down to the dungeons, where Potion lessons were held.

They headed down the spiral staircase, shivering and stumbling in the gloom.

"It's spooky down here," admitted Remus, clutching the strap of his bag more tightly.

"Yeah," said James. He gazed around at the place they'd emerged in. Torchlight shivered over the dark, stone walls.

"Hello," said an unfamiliar voice next to them. A blonde-haired Gryffindor girl had come over to introduce herself. "You boys have had an eventful week, haven't you?" She pushed a strand of hair behind her ears and looked at them, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "First, you were late, then there was that thing with the Slytherins... And this morning, there was that Howler. I'm Marlene, by the way. Marlene McKinnon."

James, Remus, Peter and Sirius looked at her. She oozed confidence and mischief, but she didn't seem to be unfriendly.

"Uh, hi," said James at last. "I'm James Potter. And these are my friends - Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew."

The girl laughed. "Nice to meet you. My friend's over there." She gestured over her shoulder to a brown-haired girl standing nervously against the wall. "She's Mary. Mary MacDonald."

Sirius waved at Mary and, looking incredibly shy with her large brown eyes, she gave him a tiny wave back. Sirius grinned broadly and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hi, Mary, I'm Sirius! Why don't you come over and say hello?"

Remus tugged on Sirius' sleeve. "Leave her alone, you moron. She's terrified of you."

But, although Mary did indeed look terrified, she inched her way across the room to talk to them.

Marlene threw her arm around her. "Hey, Mary! See, I told you the boys aren't scary."

Mary went crimson.

"We're really not," said Sirius, still looking maddeningly cheerful. "We might look intimidating, but we don't bite." He winked at Mary. "Much."

Mary blushed even harder.

"Sirius, stop," said Remus firmly, turning a sympathetic gaze on Mary. "I've already told you to leave the poor girl alone. She doesn't need your weird personality."

Sirius pretended to glare at Remus. "Oi! Watch who you're calling weird, Lupin!"

At that moment, the dungeon door opened and a vast stomach appeared. A velvet-waistcoated man followed it, a man with silvery hair and a drooping walrus moustache. His booming voice echoed around the dungeons, bouncing off the torch-lit walls. "Welcome, welcome! Welcome to your first potions lesson. If you would like to step inside and find a table…"

The class did as they were told, squeezing past the professor into the classroom. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus found a table to themselves at the back of the room. All around them, strange things floated in jars, brightly-coloured feathers lay on shelves and the peeling labels on the boxes read 'snake fangs', 'powdered root of asphodel' and 'salamander juice'. The blackboard at the front of the class said 'Professor H. E. F. Slughorn, Potions Master and head of Slytherin house.'

Once the whole class had settled and taken out their things, Professor Slughorn turned to look at them all. To James, he looked like an overgrown walrus - a walrus with a strong taste for velvet smoking jackets.

"Right, then," boomed Slughorn as he studied their faces. "Why don't we start by taking the register?" He began to read out the names, ticking them off and occasionally pausing to address a student. "...Ah, Avery, your parents were excellent students… Another Black, hmm? Pity you're in Gryffindor… Lyall Lupin was never much of a potioneer, I'm afraid… Potter? Oho! Your father still makes his potions, doesn't he? ...A Snape? Your mother married a muggle - such a pity. She was one of the best I ever taught. Very sad to hear that she wasted her talent..."

On and on it went, until Slughorn finally called the last name. He stood up from his desk with a loud creak - the buttons on his waistcoat strained a little - and hurried to the blackboard. "So. Potion-making. Who can tell me the ingredients of a Shrinking Solution?"

One person put their hand up, while the rest of the class just sat there blankly. James and Sirius were infuriated to see that the one person was Snape.

Slughorn looked a bit surprised that a first-year knew the answer to his question, but he nodded at Snape anyway. "Go on, Mr…?"

"Snape, Professor," said Snape curtly, his thin mouth twisting into a smirk. "Severus Snape."

"Oho!" said Slughorn, looking delighted. "Of course! How could I forget? Well, then. What's your answer?"

Snape took a breath. "Shrivelfigs, caterpillars, daisy roots, rat spleens, cowbane, leech juice and wormwood," he blurted, then stopped, slightly breathless, looking up at Slughorn.

James sniggered behind his hand and Lily Evans turned in her seat to give him a particularly nasty look. There was a moment's pause.

"Quite right!" said Slughorn, an expression of incredulous delight spreading across his face. "Very good, Severus! Those are all ingredients in the common potion known as the 'Shrinking Solution'. I assume you know what it does?"

Looking bored, Snape leaned on his elbow. "Well, it shrinks things, doesn't it?" he said, with the air of explaining that one plus one equals two to a particularly difficult three-year-old. "And, in the case of animals and people, it reverts them back to their youthful forms."

Peter glanced blankly at Remus. He wasn't the only one who didn't understand. A couple of Slytherins at the front of the classroom, all of whom were big and thuggish, were shaking their heads.

Slughorn, however, was staring at Snape as though he was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. "Yes, it does do that. Again, you're quite right. Take ten points for Slytherin! And it's clear as day that you've inherited your mother's talent!"

Beside Snape, Lily looked immensely proud. She squeezed his hand and whispered, "Well done!" in his ear.

Snape merely smirked.

James snorted with disgust. "The slimy little git…" he muttered, clenching his fists under the table.

Remus put one hand on his arm. "Just leave him. He isn't doing anything wrong." 

But James ignored him. In his opinion, Snape had done something _very_ wrong. Even the idiot's existence was a crime.

Slughorn set them to work brewing a simple potion to cure boils. At least, he _said_ it was simple; many of the students still had a lot of difficulty with it. Within ten minutes, Peter's potion had turned murky brown, Marlene McKinnon was frantically trying to put out the sleeve of her robes, which had set on fire, and Remus' cauldron was emitting bright purple sparks.

"Oh, dear," he said as he hopped on the spot, squinting through the sparks in an attempt to see the blackboard. "I haven't done this right, have I? Was I supposed to add a dash of leech juice? What does 'a dash of leech juice' even mean?"

James looked up from his cauldron, which wasn't quite the recommended thickness. "I think you just have to estimate. That's what I did and I _think_ mine's turned out okay… It's a bit runny, but at least it's the right colour."

"How do I correct this?" Remus whispered urgently, as his cauldron made an alarming popping noise. Slughorn was approaching to examine their potions, getting nearer and nearer…

"Sorry, I don't know," James whispered back, stirring his potion in the hope that it would thicken. It didn't.

The potion master's loud voice boomed out to them. "And how are you four getting on? All right?"

"No," said Peter. "It's going terribly."

Slughorn chuckled and leaned over to ladle some of Peter's potion. He winced as it splashed back into the cauldron, still a horrible brown. "Ah. I see. Not to worry, m'boy, I'm sure you'll get the- Oh, Merlin!" He had spotted Remus' potion.

Remus stepped away from it as Slughorn approached, eager to get away from the dangerous-looking sparks.

Slughorn frowned as he peered into the cauldron. "What did you do?" he asked Remus, tutting slightly.

"Er… I don't know, sir," Remus admitted, watching the cauldron emit another loud pop. Some more sparks shot out of it, narrowly missing Slughorn's moustache. "I got confused when I read the bit about the leech juice. What does it mean by 'a dash'?"

His silver hair gleaming, Professor Slughorn glanced up and squinted in the direction of the blackboard. He read the instructions a couple of times and sighed. "Looks like you forgot the daisy roots," he said. "And, yes, the leech juice seems to have been measured out wrongly. Maybe next time you'll get it right. Keep practicing."

He moved away, leaving Remus alone by his cauldron, still looking doubtful. "But _how much leech juice is 'a dash'_?" he hissed, watching Slughorn examine Sirius' cauldron.

James and Peter merely shrugged.

Remus sighed. Then he smiled. "I don't think Potions is my strong point," he said cheerfully. 

Potions continued to go badly for Remus as the next couple of weeks passed. On their second lesson, he even managed to explode his cauldron, showering the rest of the class in boiling liquid. Peter, who had been standing next to Remus, received a faceful. He instantly broke out into a terrible, burning rash and had to be taken to Madam Pomfrey.

"This is the second time I've been to the Hospital Wing now," grumbled Peter, once Remus had finished apologising and they were on their way back to lessons. "And it's only been a week."

"I'm sorry, Peter, honestly," said Remus, wringing his hands. "I don't know what happened... I just- Oh, hello, Professor."

The two boys stopped suddenly in the middle of the corridor. Professor Oden, their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, had just emerged from an empty classroom, looking dazed and glassy-eyed. He didn't even notice Peter and Remus until they stepped out in front of him.

"Oh. Er... Afternoon, boys. Excuse me, I really must-" He hurried past them, still looking vague.

Peter stared after the professor as he disappeared down the corridor. "What's up with him?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he's late to a meeting..."

"He could've lost something," suggested Peter. "He's always being forgetful. Come on." He tugged Remus' arm. "It's dinner in a couple of minutes. Potions will be over soon."

Remus nodded and the pair of them returned to the dungeon, where Professor Slughorn dismissed them. The four boys ate dinner in the Great Hall, before heading up to the common room.

"Anyone want a game of Exploding Snap?" asked James, pulling a pack of cards from inside his bag.

"Why were you carrying those around with you?" Peter asked in surprise, watching James shuffle the deck.

James shrugged. "Frank had some in _his_ bag. He said it was useful to have them for History of Magic. So I packed some this morning."

"Fair enough," shrugged Sirius. He took the cards from James and began dealing them out. "Who wants to go first?"

"You can start," said Remus. "But we should make this game quick. We've got that essay from McGonagall to do. And we have Astronomy homework, too."

Sirius rolled his eyes and passed Remus a stack of cards. "Who cares?" he said. "We've got ages to do that stuff. And it's only our second week."

"So?" said Remus defensively. "We've had plenty of time to get settled in, haven't we? We need to start working!"

"Uh. No, Remus. We don't."

Remus opened his mouth to argue, but Sirius got there first.

"Look, mate," he said, sighing and folding his arms. "I don't even know the way to _breakfast_ properly yet. And all the stairs keep moving... I nearly fell off one of the staircases on Wednesday. It swung around when I wasn't ready and-"

"Okay, okay!" cried James, beginning to get impatient. "We get the point! Stop bickering, you two, and let's play. We'll still have time to do the work if we're careful."

Remus and Sirius both shook their heads at each other but turned their attention to their cards. Sirius had the first turn, then Peter laid his card on top of Sirius'.

"So," said James, over the noise of their fellow Gryffindors. The common room was now packed with people. "It's the weekend tomorrow. What shall we do?"

"Let's do some more exploring," suggested Sirius brightly. "Hagrid's cabin was great - but, at the end of the day, it's just a cabin... We might be able to find some passageways."

"How are we going to find the passageways?" asked Peter, placing down another card.

"By looking? I dunno..." Sirius glanced over his shoulder and caught sight of Lily Evans sitting hunched in a corner. She had her nose buried in a book. "Hey, what's Evans doing? Why isn't she socialising?"

James looked over at her too. "Maybe she hasn't made friends with anyone in Gryffindor, yet. Whenever I've seen her, she's been with Snivellus."

"D'you think we should invite her to talk to us?"

"I... Well, I could give it a go, I guess." James raised his voice to shout across the room at Lily. "Oi, Evans!"

Lily looked up, saw who it was and scowled, her green eyes narrowing. "What do you want, Potter?"

James ran a hand through his hair and tried his best to not look offended. His heart was pounding. "Oh, nothing. I just wondered if you were bored over there, you know, on your own."

Lily snorted and dropped her eyes back to her book, pushing a long strand of her red hair behind her ears. "Not as bored as I would be if I went to sit with you."

Sirius smirked and nudged James. "Ouch!"

"Shut up, Sirius," muttered James, glaring at his friend.

Sirius winked. "Whatever you say, mate."

James tried again, still trying to keep his voice polite. "Sure you don't want some company?"

"I'll take Remus' company," said Lily, not looking up. "But not yours."

Peter, James and Sirius all turned to glance at Remus.

"Er, just out of interest, why _Remus'_ company?" said James.

"Why do you think?" Lily sighed. "Because he's got some common sense. But he can't have that much of it or he wouldn't be hanging around with you three."

Remus shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, come on!" James cried, abandoning pretence. "We're not _that_ bad!"

"Peter isn't. But you and Black are."

"Fine!" James turned his attention back to the game, just as the stack of cards exploded in his face, singeing his eyebrows. He swore loudly, and Sirius, Peter and Remus giggled.

"Nice look, James," Remus teased as James rubbed at his eyebrows, muttering under his breath and scowling.

"Shut up!"

"Ooh, a bit grouchy today, aren't we?" said Sirius, leaning across and waggling his own eyebrows at James. "Upset that Evans rejected you? Maybe she'll like you better with no eyebrows..."

Even though he was still a bit fed up, James grinned. He picked up Remus' quill and threw it at Sirius.

Sirius caught it easily in one hand, waving it tauntingly at James. "If you want it back, you're going to have to come and get it!" he laughed, as James made a swipe for the quill. "Aw, no! You missed. You're going to have to try harder than that-"

"Give - it - here!" James cried, now doubled up with laughter, trying to snatch the quill from Sirius' hand. He groaned and slumped back into his seat, sighing. "Whatever. You know, it's Remus' quill. You can keep it, for all I care."

It was Remus' turn to grab the quill now and he had just as little success as James. "Sirius, _please_ can I have my quill back? Please? I need to use it to do my homework. And, if you're not going to give it back, I'm just going to go upstairs and get another one."

"Oh, all right," Sirius sighed and handed over the quill.

They spent the rest of the evening playing Exploding Snap and, in Remus' case, doing homework. Then, after their fourth game of Snap, they decided to go to bed. After all, it had been an exciting day. And they were looking forward to exploring tomorrow.

James, however, had another motive for going to bed slightly earlier than usual. He hadn't yet had an opportunity to use his father's invisibility cloak and was keen to use it as soon as possible. Tonight seemed like a good idea. But, of course, he would have to wait until the others were asleep.

It seemed like ages until the moment finally came. Frank didn't come up to the dormitory until half-past ten and he then had a lengthy conversation with Sirius about their Astronomy essay. Eventually, however, when Sirius had stopped arguing that the essay was easy, the two boys fell asleep. Peter had drifted off half an hour ago and his quiet snores rumbled around the room.

Thinking it was safe to get out of bed, James swung his legs over the side of the mattress and stood up.

Everything was pitch black.

He used his hands to feel for his glasses and his trunk, fumbling with the lid until it finally swung open. Then, with great difficulty, he extracted the cloak, the material slipping over his fingers like water. He picked his wand up from the bedside table - or, at least, he tried to. His hands closed around empty air and he accidentally knocked one of his textbooks to the floor. It landed on the wooden floorboards with a crash loud enough to wake the dead. James froze.

Someone moved at the other end of the room.

Hardly daring to move, James waited, his heart somewhere in the region of his throat. But still the dormitory was silent. Maybe he'd imagined the movement, after all.

He reached for the book with trembling fingers, desperately glad that no one had woken up. But just as he felt the book's thick leather spine beneath his hand, there came the rustling of blankets and a slightly hoarse voice whispered, "James?"

"Who's there?" James hissed back, straightening up and dumping the book back on the table. "Remus, is that you?"

" _Lumos_." Remus' wand tip lit up, illuminating the scars on his pale, tired face.

Was it James' imagination, or did Remus look paler by the day?

"James," said Remus quietly, blinking in the sudden light. "What are you doing? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," James said, nodding and casting a nervous glance around the rest of the room. Three gently-breathing lumps told him Sirius, Peter and Frank were still asleep. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Remus shook his head. "No, I was already awake. I heard you moving around and wondered if you were sleepwalking. But you're obviously not." He glanced at the cloak balled up in James' hand. "Is that your invisibility cloak?"

James looked down at it too. "Uh, yeah," he said sheepishly. "I was thinking of going for a... a walk, you know. Want to come?"

Remus hesitated. "You want me to- to sneak out at night? With you?"

Flushing slightly under Remus' raised-eyebrow gaze, James looked at the floor. "It was just an offer. I wouldn't want to get you into trouble." But when James looked up again, he saw that Remus was smiling. He had also stood up, holding his lit wand aloft.

"Of course I'll come. Where were you thinking of going?"

James' face broke into a grin. "Oh, anywhere, really. I'm not fussed, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to look around."

"Should we wake the others?"

James glanced at the still-sleeping forms of Peter and Sirius. He hesitated. "Nah, let's just make it you and me. Too many people would wake the teachers. Besides, it's nice to have some alone time, don't you think?"

Remus nodded and moved a little closer to James, making almost no sound on the creaky flooring.

"Get under here." When his friend was close enough, James threw the cloak over both of them, hearing Remus' tiny gasp as the cool material touched his skin. They were free. Free to explore the whole of Hogwarts.

"C'mon," James muttered to Remus as they slipped out of the dormitory and down the spiral staircase. "Let's go."

"This feels so strange," whispered Remus, looking down at his body. " _I_ can still see myself, but I know that no one else can. I've never felt anything like this before."

James laughed, but stopped pretty quickly; even their whispers sounded too loud in the deserted corridor. "I have. I've used this cloak loads of times - without Dad's permission, of course."

They passed a ghost wearing a ruff, who was going in the opposite direction.

"I think that ghost's Nearly Headless Nick," said Remus, turning back to watch him glide, pearly-white, around the corner. "Apparently, he was hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe and his head didn't come off properly."

"That must've been really painful," replied James, but he was hardly listening. The sound of mewing had reached him from the end of the long corridor. "What's that noise?"

They both stopped, breathing hard.

"It sounds like a cat," whispered Remus. "Who do you think it belongs-?" The last word died in his throat.

A low, wheezing voice had joined the cat's meows, coming closer and closer while the two boys stood in the dark. "I've told Dumbledore that he's too soft with the students. Nasty little blighters, they are... But he never listens."

Remus squeaked with alarm, sounding uncharacteristically like Peter Pettigrew. He regained a grip on himself, however, and breathed, "It's Filch the caretaker. With his cat, Mrs Norris. What are we going to do?"

James shivered in the gloom. They hadn't met Filch properly yet, but they'd seen him terrifying some of their fellow first-years, a pair of Ravenclaws who'd been going back to their common room. Filch had threatened to have them whipped if they accidentally walked into him again. It was common knowledge that he _hated_ the students.

"Shh! Let's just stay here. Hopefully, they'll just go past us and we can carry on our-" James gripped Remus' sleeve very tightly. The sound of cackling was coming from the corridor on the floor above.

Remus let out a moan. "Oh, no... Oh, no... Can this situation possibly get any worse? Oh, _Merlin_! It's Peeves the poltergeist!"

Known as the Mater of Chaos, Peeves enjoyed nothing more than bouncing around the school, wreaking havoc on anyone who happened to stray into his path. Filch loathed him. And Peeves loathed Filch back. Combining the two was about as safe as combining a toad with a nearly-hatched chicken egg.

As though the cackling was a trigger, Filch flung himself around the corner and into sight, his pouchy eyes bulging in their sockets. "PEEVES!" he bellowed, so loudly that both Remus and James jumped out of their skins. "Peeves, what are you doing? Where are you? I'll get you, Peeves, I'll get you!"

For a few seconds, he looked around wildly, seeing absolutely nothing except the deserted corridor. Peeves' cackling became more pronounced than ever. It sounded as though he was bobbing in an empty classroom, directly over their heads.

Mrs Norris, meanwhile, had whisked around the corner after her master, her moth-eaten fur bristling. Her lamp-like eyes, so like Filch's, were fixed on the spot where James and Remus stood invisible.

James felt a prickling feeling creeping up his spine. Could cats see through invisibility cloaks? This cat was clearly an enemy. If she alerted her master to their presence...

BANG!

As Filch drew closer, a deafening catch echoed through the castle, causing the ceiling of their corridor to vibrate. Distant screeching filled the air; Peeves was cackling with wicked pleasure.

" _Peeves_!" hissed Filch, his voice a low snarl, raising his pouchy eyes to the ceiling. "Peeves, if you've knocked anything over, I'll… I'll-" Turning on his heel, Filch hobbled as fast as he could towards the disturbance, snarling threats under his breath and allowing the two boys to relax once more.

"Phew!" breathed Remus, once Filch and Mrs Norris were safely out of sight. "That was close. Did you see the way the cat was looking at us? I thought we'd had it for sure."

"So did I," said James, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you know if invisibility cloaks work on cats?"

"They might do, I'm not sure. I've never exactly tested it."

James laughed and, in doing so, caught sight of his friend's shivering frame. "Come on, let's get out of here. You look freezing."

Smiling thinly, Remus rubbed his arms and looked down at his bare feet. They were starting to turn blue.

The two boys moved along the corridor, keeping an eye out for Filch and Peeves, but they met nothing. Everything around them was silent. As they passed the next window, James looked out at the inky sky. A pale moon hung above the Forbidden Forest, hardly more than a week from being full.

Remus noticed it too and he paled suddenly. This time next week, he'd be facing his first full-moon at Hogwarts. What if his friends realised the truth?

"Let's go out into the grounds," said James, tearing his eyes away from the window. "It looks nice outside. We can see the lake."

They turned back the way they'd come, creeping towards the Entrance Hall under the cloak. Halfway down the first-floor corridor, they passed Professor Oden, who paid no attention to the sound of their feet as he hurried past

Remus noticed that the teacher looked just as distracted as he'd done when he and Peter had seen him during potions, if not more so. He must've lost something else, Remus thought, not looking back to watch the professor duck into an empty classroom. He and James moved on.

They reached the grounds fairly quickly and found that the front doors had been left unlocked. Slipping through them as quietly as they could, the two boys leapt down the front steps and sunk their feet into the lawn.

Remus wiggled his toes, feeling the damp grass between them. It tickled. He smiled to himself, trying, for once, to forget the looming prospect of the full moon.

James lead the way down to the lake, noticing how the moonlight was reflected in the water. The cool night breeze ruffled his hair and chilled him... But it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. "Shall we take the cloak off?" he asked, keen to sit down and enjoy the night while they could.

Remus hesitated and James, sensing his apprehension, went on: "Look, it's dark. No one's going to see us and we're almost out of sight, anyway."

"Oh, all right." Remus sighed and helped James to remove the invisibility cloak.

Then the pair of them sat down under a leafy beech tree at the edge of the lake.

"I love Hogwarts," said James softly, after an interval of silence. The lake rippled like liquid glass around them. "It might sound cheesy, but it's true."

Remus smiled sadly. "I love it too," he said. "I'm so glad I got to come here." He wrapped his arms around his knees and stared out across the water.

"I'd hate it if I wasn't allowed to come," James continued. He picked up a smooth pebble from the lake edge and turned it over in his hand. "And I feel bad for anyone who is homeschooled."

There was another pause, then James voiced something he'd been wondering for a while. "Why did your parents not want you to come to Hogwarts?" he asked Remus. To him, the idea that any parent would want to send their child anywhere else was absurd.

Remus froze, staring up at the moon. He couldn't tell James. It was out of the question. "I- I just... They wanted me to... to..."

"It's okay," said James gently. "You can tell me."

"My... my mother gets ill often," Remus told him, the lie sending his heart into a pounding frenzy. This was the perfect excuse. It would explain everything. "I can't... be away from home for too long. Dumbledore said I could come and visit her if I came to Hogwarts. So I was allowed to come."

James bit his lip, his eyes still on the pebble. "That's awful. I feel so bad for your mum. What's wrong with her? That is, if- if you don't mind me asking."

Here, Remus was forced to do some more quick-thinking. "She... she's got some kind of incurable muggle disease," he said nervously. "It runs in the family."

"Does it affect you?" James wondered if that was the reason Remus looked so pale.

Remus hesitated. "Yes," he said, unable to look James in the eye. "Sometimes. But not too badly."

"Oh." James wasn't sure what to say to this. He compromised by staring at the surface of the lake and changing the subject. "There's supposed to be a giant squid in here, did you know?"

"Yeah, I did," said Remus, turning his own attention back to the water. "Peter's terrified of it. He thinks it eats humans."

"Doesn't it?" asked James. "I don't know anything about squid. What do they even eat?"

Remus, who'd spent most of his childhood reading books, smiled thoughtfully. "Fish, mostly, I think. And occasionally other squids."

"This one must eat _tonnes_ of fish!" laughed James. "It's massive! I guess we can tell Peter it's safe, then. The squid doesn't eat humans, after all."

"It _might_ eat humans," said Remus. "But it probably doesn't. It might try to eat Grindylows, though."

There was the longest pause yet, while Remus watched the lake and James plucked up the courage to say something else. "Remus?" he said, turning back to his friend.

"Mmm?"

James swallowed. "If- if you ever need anything... I'm- I'm here."

Remus smiled and his scars were thrown into contrast against his eleven-year-old face. "Thank you, James," he said quietly. "You don't know how much that means to me."

Then they lapsed into silence, gazing out across the lake, each lost in their own whirl of thoughts. When they finally became aware of the cold night air, they slipped back up to the castle and into bed.

James tucked the invisibility cloak safely in his trunk before curling up beneath the duvet. He stared at a strip of moonlight on the opposite wall, thinking. Until he'd come to Hogwarts, he'd never truly appreciated how privileged he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) If you have time, please leave your thoughts in a comment - I'd love to hear them! 
> 
> ~ Lacy


	10. Following the Caretaker

**\- CHAPTER TEN -**

##  _Following the Caretaker_

By the next morning, a brand-new notice had appeared in the Gryffindor common room. It had been taped over the notice board and several excited first-years were milling around it.

Pushing his way through the crowd, Sirius stood on tiptoe to see over Marlene McKinnon's head. "Wonder what's going on?" he asked.

Remus leaned over the crowd too. "It says… Flying lessons…" he told the others, squinting to make out the small print. "Starting on Monday, I think."

James' head appeared at Remus' shoulder, his hazel eyes wide with excitement. "What? Really? Flying lessons? We get to fly?"

"Apparently," said Sirius, who was grinning. He turned to Peter and clapped him on the shoulder. "That'll be fun. Won't it, Pete?"

But Peter's face had broken out into a sweat. "No," he whispered mournfully. "It'll be terrible. I've never been on a broomstick before and I bet I'll be rubbish."

"I'm sure you won't be," said James, trying to restrain himself from dancing with excitement. "I love flying! I've got my own brooms at home, too - Cleensweeps and Comets and even a Nimbus… I prefer my Cleensweep, though. It's got a much cooler handle. It was a present from mum for my-"

Remus interrupted. "Don't worry, Peter. You'll be okay. I went on a broom once, when my parents were trying to teach me to fly. Dad took me. But I'm not especially fond of heights, so I didn't like it much."

James stared at him. " _You didn't like it_?" he repeated, his eyes popping. "How can you not like flying?"

"I never said I didn't like flying. I just said it wasn't as fun as it could've been. It was really cold and the broom kept digging into me and-"

"Flying's the best feeling in the world!" said James indignantly. "It's so awesome to zoom through the air, with the wind on your face and everything spread out below you…"

"What if you fall off?" asked Peter, biting his fingernails.

Sirius waved an airy hand. "Well, you die, don't you? Or you could just break a couple of bones. It depends on how high you are and how fast you're flying..."

This did nothing whatsoever to make Peter feel better.

"You won't fall off, Peter," said James, patting Peter on the back. "And, even if you do, you probably won't be high enough to do more than break your wrist. Dying is the worst-case scenario."

Peter whimpered, just as Remus stifled a yawn. He was still tired from the night-time stroll - which neither he or James had mentioned to the others. Some things, James had told Remus before they got into bed, were nice to keep private.

"Why are you so tired, Remus?" asked Sirius, leading the way out of the portrait hole. "You were the last to wake up this morning. And James looks tired too."

This was too true to be denied. Although, while James merely yawned occasionally, Remus had dark smudges under his eyes and looked exhausted.

"Oh, I- I think I'm just coming down with a cold," said Remus evasively, pinching his cheeks when the others weren't looking. He needed to look well or they'd suspect him. And then they'd do some digging, find out what he was and desert him. Remus couldn't let that happen.

"Poor you," said Peter. "You should go down to Madam Pomfrey and get her to give you some Pepper-Up Potion. My mum gives it to me when I'm ill and it works really well."

"I might go later," Remus told him, knowing fully well that he wouldn't. "What are we going to do today? We've got the weekend off, haven't we? And didn't Sirius say he wanted to explore?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, grinning. "I said we could find some secret passageways."

James nodded. "Let's do that first, then. We can do something else later. We'll eat breakfast and then have a look around. Come on."

They entered the Great Hall and sat down with their fellow Gryffindor first-years, all of whom were talking excitedly about flying.

"I've got a Cleansweep Six, back at home," said Frank Longbottom, accidentally dipping his sleeve in marmalade as he reached across the table. "The latest model. Dad bought it for me last Christmas. I've been flying it around the garden ever since."

"I fly a lot, too," said Marlene McKinnon. "And sometimes I play Quidditch with other people. We don't have proper balls or anything, obviously, but there's a clearing in the woods that we use. And there are a couple of trees that we can use as goalposts."

Lily Evans and Mary MacDonald were both looking anxious. "I don't know _anything_ about flying," whispered Mary, mid-way through buttering her toast. "I'm muggleborn, so I've never learned. I don't follow Quidditch, either. All I know is that it's played on broomsticks and there are four balls."

James leaned over the table and studied her pale face. "Quidditch is easy enough to understand," he said bracingly. "You just have to learn the rules. There are four balls - like you said - and seven players on each team. There's a Keeper, three Chasers, two Beaters and a Seeker. The Chasers have to score goals, the Keeper has to guard the goal hoops at either end of the pitch and the Seeker has to catch the Snitch. Then there are the Beaters, who have wooden bats and have to hit these two balls, called Bludgers, away from their team. It's not hard, really."

"It sounds complicated," said Mary, still looking worried. "Even going in the air sounds terrifying."

"It's not," said James, looking earnestly at her. "Honestly, you just have to kick off from the ground-"

"Ignore him, Mary," said Lily Evans, cutting across James. She gave him a very nasty look. "He's probably just trying to show off. Sev's told me all about Quidditch and he says it's much harder than it looks-"

James glared at her. "Oh, if _Sevy's_ told you, he's probably right," he muttered sarcastically. "Precious little Snivellus - he must know absolutely _everything_."

"I didn't say he did!" cried Lily, a light flush starting to creep up her cheeks. "In fact, he's told me a hundred times that he might not have all the facts right, but he's still told me a good deal of things! And all of them, so far, have been true! So I'd just shut your fat mouth, if I were you, Potter. And mind your own business."

" _You_ were the one butting into Mary and James' conversation," Sirius pointed out, turning away from the discussion he'd been having with Peter and Remus. "No one asked your opinion, Evans."

Lily snarled something under her breath, then threw James and Sirius another glare. She stood up, fists clenched, and stormed off, stopping by the Slytherin table to talk to Snape.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I dunno what you see in her, mate. She's the most snappy person I've ever met."

"I think that's just because of you and James," said Remus softly, joining the conversation. "She seems to dislike you for some reason, but she's been nice whenever I've spoken to her."

"She just doesn't know what she's missing," James said, exhaling and shaking his head. "She'd be fine if she didn't hang around with Snivellus. He's brainwashing her."

Remus sighed. "If you say so. Come on, let's go back to the common room and get our things. We can start exploring."

"Where are we going to go?" asked Peter, as they came to a halt outside the portrait hole.

The Fat Lady stared down at them. "Password?" she asked, adjusting her dress as she spoke.

"Shuntbumps," replied Sirius. He turned to Peter. "I don't know. We could look through the grounds, I guess?"

"Yeah," said James eagerly, all thoughts of Lily Evans vanishing from his mind as they scrambled through the portrait hole. "I want to look at the Whomping Willow. It sounds awesome."

Remus suddenly went very quiet. He gnawed his lip and fiddled distractedly with his sleeve. "I- I don't think that's a good idea," he muttered. "It might be... dangerous."

Sirius scoffed. "Dangerous? Oh, come off it! It's a _tree_ , for Merlin's sake! A _tree_! How many trees have you come across that are dangerous?"

"Dumbledore said at the feast that we should be careful around it," said Remus stubbornly, folding his arms. "He said that it won't tolerate human contact."

"Well, yeah, but we will be careful, won't we? It's not like he said _'don't go near the tree. It's dangerous'_. He just warned us to keep our eyes open. And we won't be wandering around with our eyes shut," he added, as Remus continued to look apprehensive. "We're not stupid. We'll keep our distance and just _look_ at it for a bit. It won't hurt.."

"Of course it'll hurt!" cried Peter who, like Remus, looked anxious. "It's a violent tree! It'll attack us!"

"No, it won't," said James "Because, like Sirius said, we'll be careful."

"But... But..." Peter seemed to be struggling to find another reason not to go near the terrifying tree. "I don't want to go," he said at last, unusually adamant. "I'm not going near the Willow. _You_ can go if you like, but I'm not."

"Aw, come on, Peter, don't be a wuss," said Sirius, smirking at the smaller boy. "You're in Gryffindor! You're supposed to be brave, you know."

But Peter shook his head. "I don't care," he said, although his voice was shaking. "I'm not coming with you."

"Suit yourself," said Sirius, shrugging. He turned to Remus. "Remus, are _you_ coming?"

"No," said Remus at once. Then a new thought occurred to him. What if the others saw the passageway at the base of the trunk? What if they went down it and found the place he was supposed to hide? If he went with them, he might be able to prevent them from looking too closely… "Actually, no. I'll come." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Peter let out a small wail. "No, Remus, don't go with them! I need you to keep me company."

Remus sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Peter, but I have to. You can come with us, though. And it won't be too scary. After all, it _is_ just a tree."

"But it's a _whomping_ tree!" cried Peter, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Its branches will attack you! You'll be hurt! You'll get into trouble!"

James and Sirius both rolled their eyes.

"Come on, let's get going," said James loudly, completely ignoring Peter's continued protests. "We won't have time to do anything if we keep arguing."

"Yeah," said Sirius. "We won't find any passages."

Wondering whether this was such a good idea, after all, Remus followed the other two out of the common room. Peter trailed behind, still whimpering.

Much to Peter and Remus' delight, however, the four boys didn't even make it to the Whomping Willow. They were halfway through the Entrance Hall when they were accosted by none other than Filch the caretaker.

"What're you up to?" he snarled, his jowls quivering with suspicion. "Sneaking around as if you've got nothing better to do. Why aren't you in your common room, flicking toad brains at the walls and plotting to cause mayhem?"

"Oh, we were just doing that, actually," said Sirius casually, looking Filch up and down, taking in his moth-eaten clothing and oily hair. "We came downstairs to have a change of scenery."

"Change of scenery!" snorted Filch, as though it was unnatural for a group of eleven-year-olds to walk through the school on a weekend. "As if! Don't think I don't know what you're up to, you nasty little rats! I'm not stupid, you-"

James sniggered loudly and Filch turned purple with rage. "Well, that's news to us," he said, nudging Sirius. "You look pretty stupid to me."

Filch spluttered as Mrs Norris wound around his ankles, glaring up at the boys. "How... how dare you!" he hissed, his eyes bulging. "I'll be reporting you to Dumbledore, I'll be stringing you up by your ankles, I'll be-"

"We haven't got all day to listen to your rants," said Sirius haughtily, folding his arms and shaking his head. "Excuse us, will you? We've got stuff to be getting on with."

"You- you-" Unable to find words to describe what Sirius was, the caretaker was reduced to muttering under his breath. There were a few seconds of spluttering as Filch's pouchy eyes flickered from James to Sirius and back again. James and Sirius glared coldly back. Then, as Filch realised he was defeated, he turned on his heels and hobbled towards the marble staircase, Mrs Norris at his heels.

"I loved that," said Sirius blissfully, closing his eyes as they walked away from Filch, towards the front doors. "Goading Filch is my new favourite hobby. Can we do it again?"

Peter shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Filch can hand out punishments if he really wants to. Anyway, he knows all the secret passageways. He'd probably just avoid us-"

James stopped dead in his tracks. The other three looked at him worriedly.

"Um... James?" said Remus hesitantly. "Are- Are you all right?"

James slowly digested this question. "I'm fine..." he said, at last, turning to fix his gaze on Peter. "In fact, I'm _more_ than fine. Peter, you're a genius!"

Peter blinked. "I'm a what?"

"A genius!" repeated James, grabbing his friend by the arm and beaming. "Filch _does_ know all the secret passageways, doesn't he?"

"So?" said Sirius. "We can't exactly go up to him and ask him about them, can we? And I thought we were going to see the Whomping Willow?"

James waved a dismissive hand. "Stuff the Willow," he said. Peter, Remus and Sirius stared at him. "We can visit that another day. Let's follow Filch instead."

"Are you mad?" said Remus, shaking his head at James. "If we follow Filch around, he'll kill us!"

"Ah, but he won't," James held up a finger and put on a superior voice. "I think you're forgetting something, Remus. Something that will help us follow Filch without being seen."

Remus gaped at him for a moment. Then comprehension dawned on him. "Hang on... Of course! The invisibility cloak! We can... We can..."

Sirius, too, felt a rush of understanding. "We can use it to follow Filch and find out where the secret passageways are!" he cried, so loudly that Peter clapped his hands over his ears. "And he won't be able to see us!"

"Exactly!" said James, nodding. "Quick! One of us needs to chase Filch and distract him, while I run upstairs and grab the cloak."

"Peter," said Sirius at once, turning to his friend. "Peter, you can do that."

Peter squeaked. "Why me?" he gasped, looking terrified at the very idea. "Why do I have to distract him? Why can't _you_ do it? _You're_ the one that liked insulting him earlier!"

"Because," said Sirius exasperatedly, "I'm going to go and smash up a classroom. Remus can help me. And you, Peter, are going to find Filch and tell him that we're making a mess."

"Oh," said Peter, finally catching on. "Oh, okay. But won't you and Remus get into trouble?"

"That's what I was thinking," muttered Remus, casting a sideways glance at Sirius.

Sirius grinned broadly. "Yep," he said. "But it'll be worth it if we manage to find some passageways."

"Um..." said Remus, considering this. "I guess so..."

"Great!" said James, already running up the marble staircase. "I'll get going then. We'll meet back here when you've made a diversion and slip under the cloak."

"Why do we even need a diversion?" asked Peter, staring after James' receding back.

"Because Filch needs to stay put for a bit," explained Sirius. "If we lose him, we won't be able to follow him, so we need to keep him in one place while we set up our plan. Come on, it won't take long." He strode off in the direction Filch had gone and, after exchanging anxious glances, Peter and Remus hurried after him.

"So, Pete," said Sirius, once they'd reached the top of the staircase. "You need to find Filch and tell him that Remus and I are smashing up the Charms classroom."

"We're- We're not _actually_ going to smash it up, are we?" asked Remus biting his lip. "We're just going to pretend… right?"

But Sirius only laughed and clapped Remus on the shoulder. "Pretend? What good would pretending do? We need to keep Filch distracted and the only way to do that is by making a mess."

"But Professor Flitwick will be angry."

Laughing again, Sirius shook his head. "You're hilarious when you act all innocent, Remus. Of _course_ he's going to be angry. But that doesn't matter, does it? Not if we get to follow Filch and find some secret passageways."

"But- But..." Remus seemed to be struggling to grasp the idea. "Can't we smash up a corridor instead of a classroom?" he asked.

Peter glanced at Sirius, knowing that he wouldn't back down. He was obviously the kind of person who goes all-out when it comes to mayhem. "I'd just go with it, Remus, if I were you," he said wisely and Sirius threw him a surprised look.

"Since when have you been eager to do something like this?"

"I'm not doing it, though, am I?" Peter pointed out. "So I don't have to worry about getting in trouble. I don't really care what you two do."

Remus sighed. "Thanks, Pete," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's great to know that you have my best interests at heart."

Peter flashed a meek grin. "Sorry. I'm just looking at things from a bystander's point of view. Sirius is right - it _would_ make more of a distraction if it's a classroom."

"Yeah," added Sirius, now nodding vigorously. "And, let's face it, I could've picked McGonagall's classroom to smash up. Flitwick, on the other hand, won't be too angry; he likes you and Lily."

"Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better!" snapped Remus. Then he sighed again and began to walk down the corridor. "Come on. Let's just get this over with."

"I'll go and find Filch," said Peter, turning away so he could head in the opposite direction. "I think he went towards the Trophy Room. He's probably trying to keep an eye on Peeves. He's always in there."

"See you," called Sirius, watching Peter disappear.

"Yeah, we'll see you if we ever get out of this alive," muttered Remus, giving Peter a gloomy wave.

Sirius turned to Remus. "Oh, come on! Don't be so dramatic. The most Filch can do is give us detention." He took his friend's arm and pulled him towards the Charms classroom. "When Filch turns up, I'll say it was my idea and you'll be fine."

"Thank you," said Remus gratefully, "But I don't want to force the blame on you."

"Well, technically, it _was_ my idea," said Sirius, as though taking the blame was nothing. He stopped outside the door. "Hey, look. This is it."

"Do you think Professor Flitwick will be inside?" asked Remus, looking anxious at the very idea.

Sirius shook his head. "Nah. It's a weekend. He'll probably be in the staff room." He put one hand on the doorknob and turned it, looking almost eager.

Remus peered over Sirius' head, just to check that their Charms teacher _really_ wasn't in there. He sighed with relief when he saw that the classroom was empty. Thank Merlin! He didn't think he'd be able to stand it if they had to distract someone else. Having to distract Filch was bad enough.

Pushing the door fully open, Sirius led the way inside, glancing around. The classroom looked exactly the same as it had done during their last Charms lesson. Professor Flitwick's usual stack of books teetered behind the desk and one of the windows was open.

Remus blinked in the shaft of dusty sunlight that fell in from the grounds. It calmed him somewhat and he was able to follow Sirius to the front of the room. He stopped moving, however, when he saw that Sirius had a huge, leather-bound book in his hands.

"Um, Sirius?" Remus whispered, watching his friend leaf through the pages. "What are you doing?"

Sirius paused to look at a complicated-looking diagram. It showed a series of protective enchantments. "Looking through the books. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Hardly able to believe his ears, Remus stared at him. "Since when have _you_ looked through books?"

"I wasn't _reading_ them, stupid," said Sirius, rolling his eyes. "I was just seeing if they were valuable."

"Why?" asked Remus suspiciously. He didn't like the sound of this, especially not in their current situation. He wouldn't put it past Sirius to- But he got no further. There was a sudden ripping sound, then a series of yellowing pages drifted to the floor, in more pieces than he could count. Remus gasped. "Oh, Merlin! Sirius, what- what are you...?"

Grinning broadly, Sirius ripped some more pages from the book and let them tumble. They fluttered through the air and landed at Remus' feet.

"Sirius, is that...? Is that...? You're actually _ripping_ a book?" An odd, weak moan escaped from Remus' lips.

Sirius glanced up. "Yep. Why're you asking? We're supposed to make a mess, aren't we?"

"But- But... But the book could be really precious."

"So? Flitwick can fix it, can't he? I'm only ripping it up. Why don't you start on those bookshelves over there?" He pointed to the shelf nearest to the door. "And, while you're at it, you could smash the window too..."

Knowing it was pointless to argue, Remus headed to the other side of the classroom and pulled out the newest-looking textbook he could find. He was pretty sure that this one wasn't valuable, but still. It was a _book_. He was going to rip a _book_.

He took a very deep breath and made a tiny tear in the first page, trying not to wince. Then he tore it a bit more, with the same pained expression on his face.

Behind him, Sirius was laughing.

Remus gritted his teeth, took hold of a whole handful of pages and pulled. They came out in his hand, just as they'd done for Sirius, and he scattered them on the floor, skirting around them so he didn't step on any.

Then, unable to bear it any longer, he crossed to the window, picked up a solid-looking set of scales and, summoning up his courage, threw it at the glass.

SMASH!

Transparent fragments flew everywhere, settling like shards of ice on the wooden flooring.

Sirius whooped loudly and stooped to pick up something heavy but, before he could throw it, the classroom door flew open. The second bout of laughter died in Sirius' throat as he caught sight of four people standing in the doorway.

Flanked by Professor McGonagall, Filch and Peter, the tall form of Albus Dumbledore stared down at them over his half-moon spectacles. Professor McGonagall's lips were so thin that, for a moment, Sirius thought they'd disappeared. Filch was shaking.

Feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of him, Remus staggered backwards and almost fell into the wastepaper bin. He seemed to have forgotten how to function. Why had he let Sirius and Peter talk him into this?

For a moment, nobody moved. Then Peter, looking pale and frightened, looked at Sirius. He opened his mouth to say something, but Professor Dumbledore got there first.

His silver hair and beard streaming over his star-patterned robes, he glanced from Remus to Sirius. "Please explain why you did this."

Sirius felt some of the shock melt away. He swallowed hard and looked into the headmaster's blue eyes. They weren't twinkling as they were known to do, but - for some strange reason - they didn't look angry either.

"I- I… We... We were..." He cleared his throat, remembering his promise to Remus. "It was my fault. I persuaded Remus to do it. It wasn't supposed to be horrible or mean. It was just a... distraction." Sirius could feel Dumbledore's gaze still on him and had the vague impression that he was being thoroughly examined. He tried to look ashamed of himself.

At last, however, Dumbledore fixed his piercing look on Remus. "A distraction?" he asked, looking down his crooked nose, while Remus trembled all over. "From what?"

"From- From..." Remus couldn't seem to keep his voice steady. The room was oddly blurred. "We were trying to distract Filch," he blurted, not meeting the headmaster's gaze. "We thought that this would... help."

Dumbledore didn't even seem surprised. Instead, he glanced from Filch, who looked murderous, to Professor McGonagall, who was straight-backed and stiff. "Minerva... Argus..."

Both members of staff turned to look at him, Filch somewhat reluctantly. Peter looked up too, still quivering, and Dumbeldore gave him a very small smile.

"I would like you to leave these boys to me. Minerva, if you could please fetch Mr Potter... I have a suspicion that he has a role in this, too." He turned back to Peter, Remus and Sirius. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to have a brief word with you three in my office. I believe you have some explaining to do and we might as well make ourselves comfortable."

Feeling a bit bewildered at the lightness of Dumbledore's tone, Remus and Sirius moved to stand next to Peter, and the three of them followed Professor Dumbledore out of the classroom. They came to a halt outside a large, stone gargoyle and Dumbledore held up his hand to indicate that they should remain quiet. "Sugar quill."

Peter blinked in amazement, but before he had time to reflect on the headmaster's sanity, the stone gargoyle had leapt aside and realisation dawned. Oh, he thought, feeling slightly stupid. 'Sugar quill' must be the password to Dumbledore's office.

A flight of spiral steps had appeared in the spot where the gargoyle had been and Dumbledore led them up it, going around and around until all three boys felt dizzy… But at last, the stairs ended and they emerged in front of a door.

Professor Dumbledore let them inside. The office was a small, circular room of astonishing beauty. A wide array of silver instruments stood on tables and the walls were covered in sleeping portraits.

Sirius turned to frown at one of the portraits above the headmaster's desk and Dumbledore, following his gaze, smiled softly.

"Ah," he said, his eyes twinkling again. "Yes, that is indeed your great-great-grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black. I'm glad to see that you've spotted him."

The portrait in question, which featured a dark-haired wizard with a pointed beard, suddenly jerked awake. "I beg your pardon?" he said lazily, looking at Dumbledore with his dark, shrewd eyes. Then his glance fell on Sirius and his expression turned into one of disapproval. "Ah. It's _you_. The newly-sorted _Gryffindor_. The... how shall I put it?... The family disappointment."

Sirius scowled.

Dumbledore's smile hardened. "Phineas!" he said sharply, making Peter and Remus jump.

Phineas sighed and leant against his frame, the crease in his forehead still prominent. "Oh, all right, Albus. But I'll stay, I think, and hear what the foolish boy has done. Knowing him, it can be nothing good."

"No one asked what you think!" Sirius snapped, his expression one of mingled hatred and hurt.

Phineas Nigellus yawned widely. "No one asked what _you_ think, either," he said smugly. "You know, this is precisely why I detest small children. You see, they are always convinced-"

" _Phineas_!" said Dumbledore, his eyes flashing. "Now, I am afraid, is not the time. Will you please do me the courtesy of leaving my office? I'm sure Walburga and Orion would be delighted to see you."

Looking confused, Peter and Remus exchanged glances.

"Phineas Nigellus Black," explained Dumbledore, "was a headmaster of Hogwarts many years ago. He is the great-great-grandfather of young Mr Black here...and has a portrait in Sirius' house, which he frequently visits."

"He's a git," said Sirius sulkily, glaring up at Phineas with his fists clenched.

Phineas examined his silk gloves. "I can hear you, you know," he said. Then, at a warning glance from Dumbledore, he slunk out of his portrait and out of sight.

"I beg your pardon," said Dumbledore, as soon as the ex-headmaster had gone. "Phineas, as you can see, is committed to blood purity. But I do not allow my portraits to insult my students. He will have more freedom of speech in Grimmauld Place." He indicated the three boys to his desk, conjuring two extra chairs as he did so and Sirius, Peter and Remus sat, looking around at the rest of the office.

Peter gasped when a soft caw came from a perch in the corner and came face-to-face with a swan-sized, scarlet bird. It's head wore a magnificent crown of plumage, its eyes glittered with integrity and there was something about it that calmed him as he sat there.

Dumbledore smiled. "Fawkes is, I agree, rather a magnificent creature," he said, nodding at the bird. The bird ruffled its plumage and cawed again.

Both Remus and Sirius looked around too. "A phoenix," muttered Remus, glancing at Sirius.

Sirius nodded. He too had recognised the bird. There was a picture of it in one of his school textbooks.

Dumbledore turned back to them, still smiling. "Quite right, Mr Lupin, Fawkes _is_ a phoenix. And, incidentally, it is a pleasure to see you again. We met, of course, over the summer. I have to say, I have been diligently practising my Gobstones skills since our game in your living room. We must have a rematch sometime... "

Remus blushed and stared at the floor. Peter and Sirius glanced at him in bewilderment, and the headmaster cleared his throat.

"Now, then. Let us slide into more serious waters. You were, I believe, caught causing a certain amount of damage to Professor Flitwick's classroom. May I ask why you wished to cause a distraction?"

Sirius wondered whether Dumbledore would punish them more if he told him the truth. Was exploring discouraged at Hogwarts? Would they get into trouble for trying to find secret passageways?

But Remus was already speaking. "We were trying to follow Filch so we could find some... er... passages," he said awkwardly, starting over Dumbledore's shoulder. To his surprise, however, when he finally dared to glance the headmaster's way, he saw that he did not look angry. On the contrary, he looked... _delighted_.

"Ah, curiosity!" he said, throwing his silver beard over his shoulder and steepling his fingers together. "A man's greatest weakness … How many times we have toiled to keep ourselves from plunging into the unknown or exploring the dark depths of our hearts... "

"Erm..." Peter didn't know whether to laugh or not. Albus Dumbledore, while great, was clearly ever so slightly bonkers.

Recollecting himself, the headmaster continued. "Of course, it is only natural that you should wish to explore the castle. And I cannot punish you for doing so-" Sirius grinned triumphantly to himself "-however..." Dumbledore held up a finger and Sirius' smile slipped a little. "I believe that partially destroying a classroom to reach that goal is going... shall we say, a little _too_ far?"

The three boys all looked sheepishly at each other.

Dumbledore's right, thought Remus as he watched Fawkes shifting on his perch. They had gone too far. They could've just dropped a dungbomb... Or threatened to jinx Mrs Norris. Those would've been better distractions… "Sorry," he said quietly, catching Professor Dumbledore's eye. "We should've thought it through a bit more. In fact, we shouldn't have done it at all. I'm sorry."

But the headmaster shook his head. "Curiosity is not a sin," he said. "And nor is it something to be ashamed of. I have brought you here, on this fine Autumn day, not because I wish to lecture you - I am sure that Mr Filch is perfectly capable of doing that on his own - but because I wish to give you some advice. And my advice is: Take care when smashing up classrooms. And if in doubt, I would strongly advise you not to do it at all."

There was a very shocked and profound silence, while Remus, Sirius and Peter digested this. Then there came a knock on the office door.

"Come in!" called Dumbledore and James' anxious face appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Mr Potter. Did Professor McGonagall fetch you?"

James gave a curt nod, his eyes travelling over the portraits and the spindly silver instruments on the shelves. He met Sirius' gaze and tried to ask what had happened, but Sirius only blinked at him. There would be plenty of time for talking later.

"As you might've guessed, your friends were recently caught destroying the Charms classroom. I was just telling them that they should've been a little more cautious... Perhaps you would like to sit down?" Twirling his wand through the air, Professor Dumbledore conjured up another seat and let it fall into place on Peter's left.

"Er... Thank you, professor," said James, perching on the chair and staring at his knees. He didn't really know what to do. All Professor McGonagall had told him (with a very stern look on her face) was that he needed to go to Professor Dumbledore's office at once. James had stuffed the invisibility cloak behind a suit of armour as he heard her approach and was very worried that someone might find it; the hiding place was not a good one. He wouldn't put it past someone like Filch to pick it up and confiscate it.

His father would kill him if he lost the cloak.

Dumbledore's eyes now strayed over the desk, where a stack of blank parchment sat beside an elegant-looking quill. He took a piece of parchment from the very top of the pile and pulled it towards him, glancing back up at the three boys as he did so.

"Now," he said, reaching for the quill and dipping it in an inkpot. "I am going to have to give you detention. You will all go to Professor McGonagall's office at six o'clock and write lines for half an hour." He smiled gently at the horrified looks on Peter and Remus' faces, leaning forwards to look at them more closely. "It is the most lenient punishment I can give you, I'm afraid. At Hogwarts, we cannot tolerate the smashing-up of teachers' classrooms. And, if _I_ do not punish you, Mr Filch certainly will."

Neither Peter nor Remus looked very reassured.

"Detentions are very common at Hogwarts," continued the headmaster, correctly interpreting their thoughts as he scribbled down the date and time of their punishment. "You do not need to worry about your reputation. As long as you prove yourselves to be brave, kind, individual souls, you will have nothing to fear from discipline. After all, we all stray a little off the beaten track at times. It is much more important that you can find your way back and learn from your mistakes."

There was another silence. None of the boys seemed to know what to say. They'd never been in a situation like this before; Professor Dumbledore was unlike any teacher they'd ever come across.

James felt rather, inexplicably fond of him and even more so when Dumbledore took a rather crumpled paper bag from the inside of his robes.

"Would you care for a Peppermint Toad?" he asked. "I visited Hogsmeade last week and thought that I would buy some. They really are rather refreshing." He shook the bag lightly and offered it to them all in turn.

They all took one, awkwardly nibbling as they stared at the floor.

Dumbledore took one too and slid it whole into his mouth, sighing with satisfaction. "Ah, confectionary! A delightful human invention!"

Sirius and James exchanged glances, barely concealing their grins.

Possibly Dumbledore noticed this, for he twisted the bag shut and tucked it away again, standing up, his purple-robed arms spread wide. "So, that brings us to the end of our little conversation. Minerva will see you at six... May I show you out of my office? It is a particularly pleasant day and it would be a pity to deprive you of the sunshine. Good day to you all."

Taking the cue to leave, the four boys stood up, Peter still shaking slightly at the knees. In single file, they moved to the door, chewing their Peppermint Toads as they did so.

Just when they'd reached the doorframe, Dumbledore held up his hand. "Remus," he said, looking at him meaningfully. "Good luck for Friday."

Remus went scarlet. "Um... Thank you, sir," he whispered, blindly groping for the doorknob.

Peter blinked, looking confused. He swallowed his mouthful of Toad as soon as they were out in the corridor. "What's happening on Friday?" he asked, noticing that James and Sirius wore expressions identical to his.

Remus pretended not to hear him. "So, what shall we do now? We could try to follow Filch again and use the cloak. We've got our detention at six o'clock, though, so we might have to eat dinner early..." He strode off down the corridor, trying to ignore the blood pounding in his ears.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something, but James laid a hand on his arm. "Leave it," he said sensibly. "Just leave him be, for now." For it had just occurred to him that Friday might be the day Remus visited his mother. And neither Sirius nor Peter knew about Remus' monthly visits.

At the end of the Charms corridor, they found the invisibility cloak tucked safely in its hiding place and put it on. After all, they might as well make use of it, even if their plan had failed. They hunted around for Filch for an hour, without success, until Peter grumbled that his feet were hurting and they gave up to eat lunch.

"Why do our plans always fail?" Sirius asked, sighing as he poked at a potato. "I mean, there was that thing with Snivellus, which kind of backfired... And now there's this. Are we going to pull _anything_ off this year?"

"Maybe we just need some practice?" suggested Remus. "Maybe we'll get better at doing things if we do them more often..."

James laughed. "Are you honestly saying you _want_ to smash up more classrooms?" he asked, nudging his friend in the ribs.

"No," said Remus seriously, chewing as he spoke. "I meant that, in theory, practice makes perfect. I'm not saying we _should_ smash up more classrooms. I'm just saying that, even though it's not necessarily the best idea, it's still a solution."

Peter swallowed. "So what _do_ we do?"

"No idea," said Sirius, shrugging. "Let's just wait and see. I'm more interested in finding something to do for the day, to be honest. Especially as we've now failed to follow Filch twice."

James shrugged and laid down his cutlery. "Yeah, who knew a caretaker could be so evasive? C'mon. Let's go back to the common room. We can think of something to do there and I need to put the cloak back in my trunk." He indicated the bulge of fabric below his robes, where the invisibility cloak was hidden.

They stood, passing Severus Snape and a group of his Slytherin friends as they left the Great Hall.

"All right, Potter?" sneered Snape, glancing over his shoulder at the four boys.

James instantly stiffened. So did Sirius.

"Just keep walking!" hissed Remus, prodding James in the back. "We've already got in trouble today; let's not start a fight."

But James ignored him and turned around, his fist clenching over the handle of his wand. "I was fine until _you_ turned up," he retorted, glaring at Snape. And he was satisfied to see that Snape glowered.

"I was only asking, Potter. There's no need to be rude."

Sirius snorted and stepped forwards. "Well, we don't need your questions, thank you. Goodbye." He turned away, dragging Peter and Remus with him, but the Slytherins began to jeer.

"What, going already?" called a boy with a sadistic smirk, sliding forwards to stand at Snape's shoulder. "You don't strike me as the type to ignore a fight, Black. What's the matter? Do you think you'll lose if you duel us?"

Sirius opened his mouth, but James jumped in.

"No," he said sharply, his voice ringing in his ears and his heart pounding. "We think it's the other way round, actually."

Snape's lip curled. "Yeah, right, Potter. Do you want to test that theory?"

Sirius laughed. "We'd love to," he said. He took another step forwards, raising his wand, but-

"No!" whispered, Remus, grabbing Sirius' sleeve to stop him from attacking. "No, don't bother. They're just immature and looking for trouble. Just-"

"Get off me!" Sirius snapped, slightly more harshly than he'd meant to, and Remus let go of him, looking hurt. A twinge of guilt flickered in Sirius' stomach, but he pushed it aside; there would be time to apologise later. Beside Sirius, James was advancing slowly. So were Snape and Mulciber.

Peter was watching the scene, his eyes wide, apparently transfixed. His small, watery nose was twitching with eager anticipation.

Remus turned and began to stride away. It was no good trying to stop them. They'd just do it anyway... He hadn't even reached the marble staircase when Snape called after him.

"What're you doing, Lupin? Going to snitch on us for being naughty?"

Remus didn't even turn around. "No," he said. "I'm just leaving. That's not a crime, is it?"

Snape sneered. "Your _existence_ is a crime. And you can't even take a fight without running off to hide. Talk about pathetic."

"Leave him alone." James' wand was pointing at Severus' heart.

Snape eyed it apprehensively. "And what're you going to do if I don't?"

"Nothing," said Remus firmly, marching back to stand beside James. "You're not going to do anything. Because that would just provoke them to do something else and it'll all escalate."

James snorted. "What? You want me to stand here and let the little toerag insult you, do you?"

"Language, Potter!" laughed Mulciber, over the din coming from his fellow Slytherins.

"You're one to talk," said Sirius loudly. "I heard you calling a third-year 'Mudblood' the other day."

Mulciber ignored this, turning back to James. Remus had resumed his attempt to drag him away.

"James, listen to me. Don't attack them. Just walk away and tell McGonagall. You don't have to descend to their level, they're just-"

"Oh," said Snape suddenly, raising an eyebrow. "So you _are_ going to tell on us, Lupin?"

"I will if you don't shut your mouth."

"Oooh! Feisty!" The Slytherins laughed louder than ever.

James took another step forward. Peter's eyes were almost bulging out of his head.

"What's up with you, anyway?" asked Avery, a tall boy at the very back of the group. He pointed at Remus. "Who scarred your face, weirdo?"

Sirius turned his wand on Avery instead of Snape. Remus paled slightly but didn't flinch. "I don't think that's any of your business," he said coolly.

"'Course it's my business. I want to send them chocolates. Maybe even a thank-you card-"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The words were out of Sirius' mouth before he could stop them. There was a loud crack and Avery was suddenly prostrate on the floor, unable to move a muscle. They'd learnt the full-body-bind in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Peter and James cheered.

Sirius grinned as the Slytherins cursed and muttered under their breath. He glanced at Snape. "D'you want to join him? You'll be there all day if I use this hex on you. We'll see who's laughing then."

Snape glared at Avery's rigid body. "You think you're so clever, Black," he began. "But you and your friends are losers."

James smirked. "Whatever. Come on, boys." He turned to Sirius, Remus and Peter, then led the way up the staircase. "Well, that was fun," he said, glancing back at the Slytherins, who were now huddled around Avery, trying fruitlessly to revive him.

"Yeah," said Peter. "You and Sirius were awesome."

"Cheers, Pete," Sirius grinned.

Remus said nothing. He still seemed to be in a state of shock.

"What's up, Rems?" asked James, as they came to a halt outside the Fat Lady.

Remus blinked. "Oh, nothing," he said. "I just think you should've left them. They're bound to try and get their revenge now, especially Snape."

"I just wish Evans was there to see what an idiot Snivellus is," said James vehemently, once Peter had said the password and the portrait hole was open. "She'd like him a lot less then."

"Oh, well," said Sirius, sinking down into an armchair in the Gryffindor common room. "There's no point crying over spilt potions. She'll stop being friends with him eventually."

"I hope it's soon," said James. He stared glumly at the floor.

Sirius nudged him. "Cheer up, mate! We've got flying lessons on Monday. And detention will be exciting - we can pass notes when McGonagall's not looking." But it turned out that detention was very boring indeed. 

"Good evening, boys," said Professor McGonagall curtly, when they entered her office at six o'clock. "Your parchment and quills are waiting. I would like you to sit down and write 'I am not a beast that smashes up my learning environment'." She glanced, slightly disapprovingly, at the piece of parchment Dumbledore had sent her. "I will tell you when it is time to stop."

Exchanging gloomy glances, the four boys settled themselves around the professor's desk, directly under McGonagall's nose. They knew that it would be no good trying to communicate; their notes would be intercepted. The half-an-hour was spent in dull silence, scratching away at their parchment and chancing glances at the clock whenever Professor McGonagall wasn't looking.

Eventually, Professor McGonagall stood up and peered at them over the rim of her square spectacles. "Very well, you may go. I shall tell the headmaster that you have completed your detention... I hope you have learned your lesson."

Knowing deep down that they had not learned their lesson at all, McGonagall let the four boys go, sighing as she imagined the seven years of mayhem that were sure to come. "Oh, dear," she muttered, sitting down at the desk and helping herself to a Ginger Newt. "How am I going to deal with them?"

But she was smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! And thanks for all your comments, so far, too :) I had a bit of trouble getting started with this chapter, but I hope it was okay. See you soon! 
> 
> ~ Lacy


	11. The Hurling Hex

**\- CHAPTER ELEVEN -**

##  _The Hurling Hex_

Monday morning came in a rush of nerves and excitement for the Gryffindor first-years. Many of them had never ridden a broomstick before and they went down to the grounds feeling ever so slightly queasy. Peter's face was actually green as he followed Sirius and James out of the Great Hall, not joining in with their animated chatter. Remus wasn't talking much either, although at least he had been able to eat some breakfast.

Madam Hooch, strict but fair, met them outside the Entrance Hall and looked the shivering students up and down. "Hurry up, hurry up," she barked. "We haven't got all day. I want the Gryffindors on one side and the Slytherins on the other. Stand by a broomstick and don't touch anything."

James turned to Sirius, his expression one of pure horror. "Slytherins? We're not having these lessons with the _Slytherins_ , are we?"

Sirius shrugged, but Remus nodded. "Yes. It was on the noticeboard this morning. The Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws share lessons, and we're with the Slytherins."

James and Sirius groaned very loudly. "Speak of the devil," muttered Sirius, pointing to the oak double doors. Their green and silver robes rippling, the Slytherins had come sauntering out of them, Avery, Mulciber and Snape at the front.

James groaned again. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, not _Snivellus_!"

"Don't worry," said Remus reasonably. "Severus can't do anything to us. Madam Hooch would go ballistic if he even tried."

"I'm not worried about him," snapped James, now glaring at Snape with a furious expression on his face. "I don't care what he does. I could take him on anytime."

Snape slid into a place opposite Lily, who was looking very put out that she couldn't have her best friend beside her. She beamed at him when he arrived. "Hi, Sev! This is so exciting!"

Snape smirked down at his broomstick. "Yeah," he said in an offhand voice.

Sirius made retching noises behind Madam Hooch's back. "Thinks he's so clever..." he muttered. "Stupid git."

James, who was examining his broomstick with the accuracy of a connoisseur, looked up at Snape. "Yeah. But we can show him up in a second. Know any good hexes?"

"Ask Remus," replied Sirius. He turned to Remus, who'd been trying to assure Pete that the broomstick wasn't going to break in mid-air. "Hey, Rems?"

"...Are reinforced with charms to keep them safe when you're- Sorry, what did you say?"

Sirius grinned. "I said, 'do you know any good hexes'? Specifically broom hexes?"

"Yes, of course I do," said Remus, surprised. "There's the Hurling Hex… or I guess you could use 'Incendio' to set the broom on fire…"

"How do you cast the Hurling Hex?" asked James eagerly.

Remus frowned. "I don't really know. Why?" He glanced up at Snape, who was laughing with Lily. "You're not going to use it, are you? It's really complicated. And dangerous."

"We'll be careful," said James confidently. "Tell us what you know."

"Well," said Remus, after a long pause. "The incantation is 'equitum ilaculer'... I think. But Madam Hooch won't be happy if you use it on Snape. In fact, it might even be too hard for a first-year. I don't know all the details."

Sirius grinned, his eyes lighting up with mischief. "We can still give it a go, though. Thanks, Remus!"

"You're welcome," replied Remus. But he was biting his lip worriedly as he returned his attention to his broomstick.

From the middle of the square of grass, Madam Hooch began the lesson. "Right, then. Has everyone got a broom? Don't mind if the twigs are a bit bent - the school brooms might be old, but at least they fly. Now-"

As she lectured them on the basics of flying, James leant over to Sirius. "So," he hissed, "I'll cast the spell, yeah? You distract everyone. We'll do it when Snivelly is in the air."

"Sure." Sirius looked over his shoulder to see Snape and Lily intently focused on the lesson. "Maybe Evans will finally see what a scumbag her Slytherin friend is."

"Will you boys be quiet over there?" barked Madam Hooch, her amber eyes flashing.

James grinned. "Sorry, Madam Hooch. We were just discussing our broomstick technique."

"Hmph!" The teacher gave them a half-approving nod before turning back to the rest of the class. "Now, when I give the command, you should place your right hand over the broom and cry 'up'!"

A Slytherin boy at the end of the row raised a quivering hand. "What if we're left-handed?"

"Then you use your left hand. It's not rocket science."

The boy blinked at her. "What's a rocket?"

"Never you mind. Just stand by your brooms and shout 'up'. On my whistle... Ready?" A sharp blast pierced the silence.

"UP!" everyone cried, and about half the broomsticks leapt into the air, James and Sirius' included. Peter's broom, however, did not even twitch and nor, at the other end of the row did Alice Fortescue's. Remus' remained on the ground for a couple of seconds before reluctantly zooming into his outstretched hand.

Madam Hooch strolled up and down the line of students, checking their posture and altering their grip. "Very good!" she told James when she reached him.

James grinned proudly.

Peter, meanwhile, was still trying to get his broom into the air. "Up!" he shouted. "Up! Up!" But the broomstick refused to move.

Madam Hooch tutted at him. "Don't be afraid, boy. Have a little confidence. If you sound less nervous, the broom will hover." Then she moved away to expect Snape and Lily.

"I'm useless at this!" Peter wailed, waving his hand at the broomstick as though that would help. "Up! Come, on, up! _Please_ , broom? _Up_!" This time, the broom gave a small jerk. Peter beamed delightedly at his friends. "It moved! It moved! It actually moved!"

"Well, it's not in your hand yet," James reminded him, picking fussily at his own broom handle. The school brooms were nothing compared to his broom back at home.

Peter sighed. "I know. I'm still useless."

"It's a good start, though," Remus told him encouragingly. "If you just keep going you're bound to get the hand of-"

SMACK!

Everyone winced. Peter's broomstick had flown into the air and its handle had collided with his pointed nose. "Ouch!" Peter cried, both hands over his face.

The Slytherins howled with laughter. Even Sirius was smirking a little, although he stopped as Remus glared at him.

"Are you okay, Peter?" James asked tentatively.

Peter rubbed his nose. "I- I don't think anything's broken..."

Madam Hooch was hurrying over. "What happened?" she asked, bending down to examine Peter's bruised nose. "Did the broom catch you in the face? They sometimes do, you know, if you get too impatient with them. Or if you fail to catch the handle."

While Madam Hooch fussed over Peter, most of the Slytherins were doubled up with mirth. James and Sirius looked ready to punch them.

"Just ignore it," said Remus through gritted teeth. "It's their problem if they want to be stupid... Just don't rise to the bait."

"At least we'll get our revenge," muttered James to Sirius. "We'll see who's laughing when we've done our bit."

"Right," said Madam Hooch, once she'd made sure Peter was not in need of the Hospital Wing. "Everyone holding their brooms? Good. Now, I want you to swing your legs over the broom and kick off hard from the ground. Then, you will rise a few feet into the air, lean forwards slightly and come back down."

The class shuffled into position, the Slytherins hastily masking their laughter.

"On my whistle again," said Madam Hooch, pulling the silver whistle from the neck of her robes. "Three... Two... One... " She blew hard and the class rose into the air.

Sirius shot a look at James, who nodded. _Time to make a distraction._ He tilted his broom's handle upwards and soared high into the air. The cool breeze whistled through his hair. He'd done this hundreds of times before… It was so easy…

"Bet you can't get higher than me!" Sirius called to his classmates, all of whom were staring, open-mouthed, up at him. James, who had pulled out his wand and was still on the ground, gave him a thumbs up.

Madam Hooch ran forwards. "Mr Black!" she screeched, whipping out her wand. "Get back down here this instant!"

Dipping and swerving above the crowd, Sirius' laughed and flew even higher, wondering if he could attempt a dive. "But this is _easy_ , Professor. I'm not doing much wrong." Below him, James was pointing his wand at Snape, who was hovering in the air next to Lily. Sirius braced himself, taking in the expanse of castle stretched out below him, the tiny dots below him on the ground. Then he dived.

As the wind whipped his hair off his face, a series of screams ripped the air. Marlene McKinnon gave a loud whoop and Peter stumbled backwards out of the way… Madam Hooch did not move, her hands on her hips and her eyes cold.

"Sirius Black! Get down here _immediately_!"

"I'm coming, professor!" called Sirius. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he leapt off his broom and bowed to the applauding crowd. "Ta-da!"

Madam Hooch was shaking with fury. She opened her mouth to take as many points from Gryffindor as she could, intending that Sirius should be in detention until his dying day, but before she could do so there was a commotion from the Slytherin side.

Severus Snape, ten feet in the air, was clinging to his uncontrollably-bucking broomstick.

Several more people screamed as the broom dipped and swerved, and Snape clung on even tighter. His greasy hair was jumping about his face, his knuckles were white on the handle of the broom and his dark eyes were wide with terror. Lily Evans was on the ground directly below him, her hands over her mouth and her eyes blazing.

Marlene McKinnon was laughing.

"Nobody panic!" called Madam Hooch, her black robes billowing as she marched towards Snape. "You just hold on up there and we'll get you back on the ground in no time."

But Snape didn't seem to hear her. His broomstick was bucking more wildly than ever and he was starting to slip forwards, dangerously close to sliding over the handle…

Smirking, Sirius headed towards James, Remus and Peter, his broomstick slung over his shoulder. Bending low so that no one else could hear him, Sirius breathed, "Nice one, mate!"

James high-fived him. "You too. That dive was pretty neat."

"Thanks… Hey- Look at Snivellus!"

Everyone turned. There was a crack and a flash of light, and the next second, Snape was being lowered to the ground by Madam Hooch, whose wand-arm seemed to be shaking. Whether from shock or from fury, James didn't know. But he soon found out.

As Snape tumbled to the ground and scrambled to his feet again, white and shaking, his dark hair all over his face and his robes covered in grass-stains, Madam Hooch turned towards the rest of the class. A couple of girls, including Marlene McKinnon, were still laughing, but they soon stopped at the look on Madam Hooch's face. Frank and Alice's mouths were hanging open. Even Remus looked horrified.

"If I ever find out which one of you jinxed this boy's broomstick," said Madam Hooch, her voice shaking as much as her hands, "then that person will be expelled faster than you can say 'Quidditch'."

"You shouldn't have done that," said Remus anxiously as, ten minutes later, they left from Defence Against the Dark Arts. Snape and Lily trailed behind the rest of the class, their heads bent, muttering to each other.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What? Feeling sorry for Snivellus, are you?"

Remus flushed. "Well… No. It's just that- Well- Maybe you went to far."

"Of course we didn't. Snivelly survived, didn't he? He didn't even get a scratch. Anyway, he deserved it. He's always trying to attack us, so why shouldn't we teach him a lesson?"

Remus didn't seem to have an answer for this, but he remained deep in thought all the way up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where they ran into Snape himself and a very furious-looking Lily Evans.

The moment the four boys approached, Snape ducked behind a group of Slytherins and Lily stepped towards them. Her green eyes had narrowed into slits and they glared at James with a burning hatred.

James glanced at Sirius, then opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say anything, Lily's nose was inches from his and she was shouting at him like she'd never shouted at him before.

"You hexed Sev's broomstick!" she hissed, her fingers balled into fists. "You did, didn't you? You hexed him and you don't even care! You arrogant toerags, you evil scumbags, you- you-" But words failed her and, for a few seconds, she simply stood there, glaring at them, her red hair practically crackling with fury.

"Evans-" James began, with a half-glance in Snape's direction.

Lily shouted him down. "You're a mean, bullying jerk, Potter! You strut around like you're better than everyone else, you're horrible to Sev, even though he's done nothing to you-"

Sirius raised one eyebrow. "Nothing? Who says Snape's done nothing? He laughed at Peter! He's a Slytherin!"

"So?" Lily demanded, rounding on him instead. " _So_? Your whole family is in Slytherin, aren't they?"

"Yeah," muttered Sirius. "And they're so great. _Not_."

But Lily wasn't listening. "Being in Slytherin isn't a crime, you know! It's not like people can help being put in other houses! Sev's my best friend-"

"He doesn't only want to be your friend!" cried James suddenly, unable to help himself. His face burned as he looked into Lily's almond-shaped eyes, but he fought to keep himself under control.

Lily looked even more furious. "And what's that got to do with you, Potter?" she snapped. "Why is it any of your business who I hang around with? Why do you even care?"

James blushed deeper than the Gryffindor lion emblazoned on his robes. "I- I just... just think you deserve better."

"Better than _what_ , exactly? Better than _who_?" Her eyes had narrowed to deadly-looking slits.

"Better than... better than... Well, better than... Snape."

"Oh, really? And who," Lily's voice had surpassed shouting and become a deadly, sarcastic whisper, "do you know that fits that category? Who do you know that's better than Severus? Are _you_ , Potter? Are _you_ better than him? Do you consider yourself to be a cut above everyone else, or are you just-?"

"Evans, Snape's a git-" James began, trying to reason with her.

Lily exploded. "AND YOU'RE NOT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT YOU'RE SO SAINTLY AND KIND AND GOOD? YOU JINXED HIS BROOMSTICK, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, LITTLE-"

"Is there a problem here, Miss Evans?" said a vague-sounding voice from behind them. Professor Oden had arrived, along with the rest of the class.

Lily blushed as she realised they were all staring at her. "N-no, Professor. I just..."

"Well, go inside, please. The lesson is about to begin. Where's my quill gone? Perhaps I left it on my desk-" The professor ushered his students inside, patting his pockets as he did so.

The four boys followed Lily and Snape inside. Lily sat down as far away from James and Sirius as possible, and shot filthy looks at them across the classroom. Professor Oden stood at the front, talking to them about ghosts and poltergeists, and the difference between the two, completely oblivious to the crackling tension in the room. He then lost the textbooks he was supposed to be handing out and left the classroom to go and find them.

While the teacher was gone, Sirius scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Snape. It hit him on the arm and bounced off. Lily picked it up and tore it into pieces. Snape went red and gripped the corners of his desk.

Sirius made to try again, but Lily gave him such a glare that he desisted. He was prevented from trying again by the reappearance of their teacher.

"Sorry about that," said the professor, hurrying into the room and dropping the books on his desk. They slid everywhere and he picked them up, gathering them hastily back into a pile. He pushed a strand of brown hair off his forehead. "Right. Now that I've found the books… could somebody hand them out?"

Lily volunteered and moved around the classroom, placing a copy of 'Poltergeists - A Beginner's Study' on each desk. She slammed James and Sirius' copy down a little harder than was necessary when she reached them last, then returned to her seat.

"Thank you, Miss Evans, thank you..." Professor Oden gave her a couple of house points and began the lesson. "So. Poltergeists. Could you all turn to page two-hundred-and-three and read the summary given by the author?"

There was a great rustling of pages as the class found the page and began to read. The professor moved around them all, occasionally asking them to write down a particular date or fact. Sirius and James both resigned themselves to Lily's anger and waited patiently for the end of the lesson to come so they could escape. When at last the bell rang, Lily shot out of the room so fast that she knocked over her chair and the four boys were left to leave on their own.

To their surprise, Professor Oden left very speedily too.

"I wonder where Professor Oden went," said Peter, glancing over his shoulder as they left the classroom. "Teachers don't usually leave their classrooms straight after lessons. Most of them stay to tidy up first."

"He could've gone to the bathroom," suggested James. "Or he could've lost something again. He's always hurrying around, looking for things."

"Peter and I saw him in the first-floor corridor, remember?" said Remus as they headed downstairs for lunch. "He was coming out of an empty classroom that day I took you to the Hospital Wing."

"Yeah," said Peter. "I remember. And we thought he'd been looking for something."

"Poor bloke," said Sirius cheerfully. "He'd lose his own head if it wasn't screwed on."

They left the second floor by hurrying down a staircase and passed the Gryffindor prefects, Marcus and Felicity talking with their heads together. The pair seemed to be arguing.

"Typical," whispered James as they moved out of earshot. "Marcus always looks so surly. He's always arguing with people. Poor Felicity."

"I know," said Peter. "The other day, I was collecting my potions essay from the library and Marcus came round one of the shelves near the restricted section. He nearly knocked me over. Then he started shouting at me, telling me I was clumsy and that I should look where I was going- And it wasn't even my fault. _He's_ the one that should be more careful!"

"Yeah," said James angrily. "He should. It's not okay for him to walk all over you just because you're younger…" And the rant about domineering Prefects carried him all the way down to the Great Hall, where they ran into Frank Longbottom and his best friend Alice.

"Hi," said Franks breathlessly, flinging himself down on the bench beside them. "I just remembered that I haven't actually introduced my friend to you, have I? I mean, you know who she is and everything, but you've never been properly introduced. This is Alice. Alice Fortescue."

Alice waved cheerfully. She had a round, smiling face, dark hair and pink cheeks. "Hello," she said. "Nice to meet you at last. I hear you're Frank's dorm mates."

"We are," said James. "Nice to meet you too."

"Are you related to Florean Fortescue?" blurted Peter, tucking into his Shepherd's pie. "You know, that man who runs the ice cream shop in Diagon Alley?"

Alice laughed. "No, I don't think so," she said as Peter blushed. "I suppose I _could_ be related to him very distantly... But that's a great question. I've never been asked that before."

Peter blushed even harder and mumbled something that sounded like, "I'm not food-obsessed, I promise."

" _I'm_ food-obsessed!" said Sirius loudly, having overheard Peter. "I love food. Who doesn't?"

"Food is good," agreed Frank, pulling a baked potato onto his plate and dumping some butter in the middle of it. He then reached for the cheese. "It keeps me alive, so I can't really complain about it, can I? And it tastes nice. That's always a bonus."

"Favourite food?" asked Alice. "I can't choose, to be honest."

"Me neither," said James.

"I've always had a soft spot for peanuts," admitted Frank. "I know it sounds weird, but I do."

"Chocolate," said Remus.

"I have to say cake," said Peter slowly. "I mean, it's sweet and yummy and it comes in all kinds of flavours..."

Sirius just shrugged. "I dunno. I'll eat anything really."

"What, even rats?" Remus teased, cutting up a carrot.

"Uh... I guess. Like, I would if I was starving."

James poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice. "I think everyone would," he said, but Alice shook her head.

"Mary MacDonald wouldn't. She's terrified of rats. But she seems to like mice."

"I can't even tell the difference," said Frank. He paused to chew his potato, then continued. "Isn't a rat just a big mouse?"

The others all looked at him.

"You tell me," said James blankly. "But there's got to be _some_ kind of difference. Otherwise, rats would literally just be called 'big mice', wouldn't they?"

"Or 'mus magna'," suggested Remus. "That's the Latin translation."

James rolled his eyes. "How in Merlin's name do you know that?"

Remus glanced at Sirius. "Oh, I... um... borrowed Sirius' Latin dictionary."

"You _what_?" asked Frank, as Sirius fidgeted awkwardly.

"You have a Latin dictionary?" asked James, amazed. " _You_ , of all people, have a _Latin dictionary_?"

Sirius sighed. "I- It's just a... Well, my- my family told me to bring it. They're kind of obsessed with... erm... tradition."

"Are you saying it's traditional to bring a Latin dictionary to school?" demanded Frank. "Because I've never seen one."

"I didn't say it was _normal_ ," muttered Sirius, his eyes on his fork. "And, Remus, I told you not to tell anyone."

"Sorry," said Remus. "I know I promised. But it's not _that_ embarrassing-"

"Not for you, maybe," said Sirius. "But you don't have my reputation. You're not a gorgeous teenage heartthrob, unlike me."

Remus burst out laughing. "Sirius, you're _eleven_ years old! And you've been at this school for two weeks."

"So?" said Sirius defensively. "I can become an eleven-year-old heartthrob in two weeks, thanks. Just because you can't, Lupin-"

Remus laughed again. "Does it look like I care?" he asked.

"You should care," grinned Sirius. "I mean, have you looked in the mirror recently?"

"I can't," replied Remus, looking unusually grave. "It smashes every time I try." Then he looked at Sirius again and they both cracked up.

"Will you two get a grip?" said James, gulping down his pumpkin juice. "Honestly, I swear your sense of humour is terrible. It's enough to make me cry."

Sirius calmed down a little bit. "But seriously, Remus. _Have_ you looked in the mirror recently? Because you do look terrible."

James groaned. "Sirius, just because I said your sense of humour is enough to make someone cry, I don't mean that you have to _literally_ make someone cry," he said.

But Sirius shook his head. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you look really tired, Remus. There are shadows under your eyes, you're really pale and... Remus, you look _ill_. Are you feeling okay?"

Very conscious of the fact that they were all staring at him, Frank and Alice included, Remus dropped his gaze to his plate. "I... Yes, I'm- I'm fine," he said quietly.

"Are you sure?" asked James. He too had noticed how exhausted Remus seemed to be getting. "You've been looking ill ever since Friday."

"No, no, I'm fine." Remus glanced nervously at Frank and Alice to see what they were thinking. What if someone worked out his secret? Full moon was drawing closer and closer... What would he do if he was forced to leave Hogwarts?

Peter caught Remus glancing at Frank and Alice too, and he leaned forwards. "We can go somewhere private if you like."

"Yeah," said Alice, standing up. "We don't mind. We'll see you in Charms and you can talk in peace. Come on, Frank."

Frank obeyed and followed her out of the Great Hall, throwing the others a small wave as he went.

James stood up too. "Come on, Remus. We'll go and find somewhere to talk. We can get away from all this noise." He gestured around him at the hundreds of chattering students.

But Remus didn't move. "No, really, James. It's fine. You don't have to-"

"Yes, we do," interrupted Sirius, trying to drag Remus to his feet. You can tell us what's wrong and we can take you to the Hospital Wing."

"But I don't need the Hospital Wing."

"Well, what do you need, then?"

"I-" Remus cast around wildly for an excuse. "I'm just... tired, that's all. There's nothing wrong really."

James raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll tell Professor Flitwick that you've gone to get some rest. You can sleep while we're in Charms. I'm sure he won't mind - Flitwick likes you and Lily." Sirius stopped pulling at Remus' arm and simply stood beside him, his arms folded.

"What? No! No, I can't miss Charms!" Remus cried, leaping to his feet and sending his fork crashing to the floor. Flustered, he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "I'm not _that_ tired. I can still come to Charms. Trust me, please. If I need the Hospital Wing, I'll go, I promise."

The others exchanged glances.

"You should go to bed early tonight," said Peter sensibly, after a long pause.

Remus nodded, grateful to have escaped the questioning for the time being. "I will," he told his friends. "And I should feel better in the morning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages since my last update - I'm so sorry about that! But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!!


	12. The Mad Axeman

**\- CHAPTER THIRTEEN -**

## The Mad Axeman 

* * *

_**"I doubt it makes much difference," said Professor McGonagall coldly, "unless there is a mad axeman waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the Entrance Hall."** _ **\- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.**

* * *

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," said Peter nervously as they crouched behind a suit of armour the very next day. They'd been lurking there for the last ten minutes, impatiently waiting until the coast was clear. Teachers never usually came down this corridor, but there seemed to be a never-ending horde of them today.

"Aw, come on, Pete! It'll be fun," James told him, watching tiny Professor Flitwick vanish around the corner. "All right. Looks like the coast's clear. Let's go."

They crept out of their hiding places, holding their wands aloft. The corridor was now deserted.

"Remember, the incantation is 'piertotum locomotor'," whispered Remus, on James' left.

"I know," James whispered back. "You said before."

Peter still looked anxious. "Um, guys? Guys, I don't think we should do this-"

"No one will know it was you, Peter," said Sirius irritably, glancing over his shoulder to check that no one else was coming. "And even if they do find out who was behind it, it's James that's going to perform the spell. Technically, you're just a witness."

Peter sighed and knotted his fingers together. "Oh, all right. But we'd better not get caught. I don't really want another detention."

"You shouldn't hang around with us then, mate," said James, laughing. "We're magnets of trouble."

"Remus isn't," Sirius pointed out. "The teachers like him."

But Remus shook his head. "If I was really sensible, I wouldn't have encouraged you to do this. I'm just as much of an idiot as you two are."

"Fair enough." Grinning, Sirius turned to James. "Come on. Are we doing this or not?"

"Okay, okay, keep your hair on..." raising his wand, James pointed it at the suit of armour. " _Piertotum locomotor_!"

There was a moment's pause, while the four boys wondered if the spell had worked. Then the suit of armour gave a great judder and twitched.

"It's moving!" Remus hissed, clutching James' arm. "You did it! Look! It's actually moving!"

"Well, what did you think it would do?" James asked. But he felt a surge of pride as he watched the armour come to life; the spell was quite an advanced one.

"I think we have to tell it what to do," said Sirius thoughtfully, gazing up at the suit of armour. The armour gazed right back, its axe - which it clutched in both hands - glinting in the torchlight from the walls.

"What should I say?" asked James, panicking slightly. He hadn't even thought of that.

Luckily, Remus had. "You could just tell it to chase people," he said, his eyes locked on the knight's fists. "But tell him to do it safely. We don't want him to literally kill people. That axe looks nasty."

"All right," said James. He took a step forward so he was standing in front of the knight's stone plinth, then cleared his throat and said, "Knight?" The knight turned its faceless gaze on him. "Do you-? Do you think you could... erm... chase people for us? And- And shout insults at them?" The knight stared down at him.

Beside James, Sirius was sniggering uncontrollably. "Brilliant, James," he said. "That was _so_ impressive."

"Well, it's hard talking to an empty helmet!" cried James defensively, folding his arms. " _You_ should try it sometime."

"I'd love to," joked Sirius, watching the suit of armour stretch its limbs with a loud clanking noise. "But the opportunity doesn't often-"

"Ooh!" squealed Peter, backing away to hide behind Remus.

The others looked. The suit of armour had jumped off its plinth and was standing before them, axe raised and ready. It was completely made from bits of metal, rusted at the joints from standing in a school corridor for so many centuries, but still undeniably lethal.

"Wow," said Remus in an awed undertone, looking up at the eight feet of metal and chains. "Wow, that's actually quite scary."

"I know, right," said Sirius cheerfully. "I wouldn't want to meet him down some dark corridor."

Peter squeaked underneath his hands, both of which were clutching his face and James patted him consolingly.

"It's all right, Pete. The knight's not dangerous. He's just going to chase people-" Even as he finished speaking, the knight took a step towards them.

All four boys looked at it.

"Uh, oh," said Remus quietly. "I think it wants to chase _us_."

"Let's get out of here before it does," agreed Sirius, grabbing Peter by the elbow and starting to drag him down the corridor.

Moving like a bizarre metal monster, the knight clanked after them, brandishing its axe and lifting its heavy feet.

" _Quick_!" cried Remus, breaking into a run. "You should've told it not to chase us, James!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know?" James panted as they turned a corner. "You were the one that told me what to-"

"Aha! Ickiest firsties!" A small man had appeared in mid-air, wearing a bright orange bow-tie and an evil expression. It was Peeves the poltergeist.

Remus groaned. Why did Peeves always turn up when they least wanted him to? He seemed to be drawn to trouble, the way that nifflers were drawn to gold. "Oh, go away, Peeves, please!" he moaned, trying to duck under the floating man while the knight clanked and wheezed behind them. Because of all its armour, it didn't seem to be able to run very fast.

But Peeves stuck out his tongue. "Shan't!" he said rudely, blowing a large raspberry. "Old Peevesie wants to have some fun!"

"But we're in a hurry, Peeves! _Please_!"

Peeves ignored him. "What're you ickle firsties doing, wandering around on your own? Up to nasty tricks?" He flipped upside down and grinned at them between his legs. "Throwing stink pellets? Breaking the rules? Tut, tut! Should tell Filchie, I should."

"Peeves, for Merlin's sake, just go away!" snapped James, hopping on the spot as the knight came around the corner. "Just move! We need to-"

"Aha!" Peeves screeched suddenly, pointing a fat little finger in the direction of the knight. He flipped the right way up again and began to cackle gleefully. "What's that doing down here? Naughty knight! Chasing naughty first-years?"

The knight clanked closer and closer. It was raising its axe... lifting an arm... "YOU PEA-BRAINED DOLT!" bellowed the suit of armour. "YOU ARROGANT BUM!"

Sirius, Remus, Peter and James nearly jumped out of their skins. In their haste to escape the knight, they'd almost forgotten that it could talk.

Peeves, however, laughed even more gleefully. "Ooh! A talking suit of armour? Haha, Peevesie likes mischief! Peevesie'll make it double! Peevesie will make your suit of armour look fun! Wheee!" Then, without any warning, he swooped on them.

"Argh!" Peter yelled, sprinting down the corridor as fast as his short legs would carry him. "Argh! Help! _Nooo_!"

The other three ran after him, dodging Peeves by millimetres, who immediately began to chase them. The knight followed, its own insults mingling with Peeves' in the air. "COME BACK HERE, UGLY!"

"Peevesie's going to get you, you naughty, ickle first-years!"

"YOUR BRAIN'S THE SIZE OF A MUSTARD SEED, WITLESS!"

On and on they ran, down corridor after corridor, until someone else appeared from an empty classroom. It was Filch.

"PEEVES!" the caretaker screeched, his pouchy eyes bulging in their sockets. "PEEVES! What are you doing? I'll have you, this time, I'll have you!"

Peeves at once stopped chasing the boys in favour of goading Filch. "Why, hello, Filchy-wilchy! What are you cleaning today?"

Filch wasn't impressed. "You sneaking, thieving little-"

But his next words were drowned out by the suit of armour, which had caught up with them at last. "SCUMBAG!" it bellowed, clanking furiously towards Filch.

Filch's already-purple face turned maroon. "You- You..." he gasped, turning his wrath on the four boys. "What is this?" he hissed, his cheeks quivering.

"What do you think it is?" said Sirius innocently, looking up at Filch. "It's a suit of armour, obviously. Don't you see enough of them around here?"

Filch's cheeks quivered some more. "Of course I see-" he began, before deciding it was best not to answer and. "Why is it walking and talking and- and making a mess?"

Sirius grinned even more broadly. "Well, why are _you_ walking and talking and making a mess?"

Filch glared at him. "Because I'm- I'm _alive_ , you half-witted-"

"-MORON!" bellowed the knight, still advancing on Filch.

Filch, James was pleased to see, took a very distinctive step backwards. He had even less power than the boys did over the enchanted knight and he knew it.

"What did you do?" hissed the caretaker, glaring at Peter, James, Sirius and Remus.

"N- Nothing," said Peter unconvincingly, his voice so shrill that even bats would struggle to hear it. "We didn't do anything. We- We-"

Filch did not look as though he believed him. He opened his mouth to say something, but never got the words out. The knight was upon him before he had the chance. Terrified, Filch spluttered, staring up at the knight as though rooted to the spot. There was a moment's pause, while Filch and the knight looked at each other... Then the caretaker turned on his heel and hobbled, as fast as he could, away. The knight followed him.

Peeves cackled. "Squib!" he called after Filch. "Squib-y! Toad-brain!" Still cackling, he zoomed out of sight after Filch and the suit of armour.

James sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Phew! Well, that was eventful."

"I never want to do this again," said Peter weakly.

Sirius only laughed.

* * *

By break time, the news that there was a rampaging knight on the loose had spread all over the castle. The knight had even earned himself a new nickname, 'The Mad Axeman', and had taken to haunting the Entrance Hall. It shouted at students as they passed, frequently chasing them up the stairs. A pair of second-year girls were reduced to hysterical tears after they were attacked by the knight on the way to Potions.

The teachers, on the other hand, were baffled as to what had caused a perfectly ordinary suit of armour to behave so strangely. Once, Peter actually witnessed tiny Professor Flitwick trying fruitlessly to examine the knight, while it chased him around and around the Hall, shouting, "I'LL GET YOU, SHORTIE!"

"No!" panted the poor Charms professor, raising his wand. "No, I wanted to ask you a few questions, that's all! I want to know where you came from, if a student has enchanted you or if you are merely a chameleon-"

"SHORT-FACE! bellowed the knight, paying absolutely no attention to Professor Flitwick's pleas. "MIDGET!"

Peter hurried on up the marble staircase, very glad that the knight hadn't noticed him. When the teachers found out who had charmed the armour, he and the others were going to be in a _lot_ of trouble.

When he reached the common room, Peter found Sirius, James and Remus talking to Marlene and Mary. They all had their homework spread out in front of them and were busy filling in a reasonable-looking star chart for their Astronomy teacher, Professor Sinistra.

"Where's Mars positioned again?" asked Marlene, shaking her blonde hair out of her eyes as she tried to remember.

"Uh, I think it's next to-" began Remus. Then he looked up and spotted Peter. "Hi, Pete! Where did you go?"

"The library," said Peter, sitting down. "I needed a book for our Potions homework. But I saw the knight on the way back. It was chasing Flitwick."

James and Sirius laughed loudly.

"Haven't they realised it was us, yet?" asked James, marking Orion on his chart.

Marlene and Mary both looked up so quickly that Mary's bottle of ink - which they were sharing- flew all over the carpet.

"What?" gasped Marlene, looking from James to Sirius in turn. "It was _you_? _You_ made that suit of armour chase people?"

James ran a hand through his hair. "Well, yeah, he said offhandedly. "It was. We just thought it'd be funny, you know."

Marlene continued to stare at him. "But that's awesome!" she said breathlessly.

Mary considered it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"How did you get it to move?" asked Marlene, completely abandoning her star chart.

"Oh." Sirius shrugged. "That was easy. James did the spell. Remus read about it in the library. We used _piertotum locomotor ._ "

"Wow," said Marlene slowly. "Wow."

Peter smiled awkwardly. "James was great," he said, with a nod in James' direction.

"Cheers, Peter," said James.

"You're welcome."

There was a minute's silence, while James yawned and Mary finally came to her senses, beginning to mop up the puddle of ink with her handkerchief.

Remus watched her sympathetically. "Here," he said after a while, when the handkerchief was black and the ink still hadn't gone. He leaned forwards and waved his wand. "Evanesco." The ink vanished.

"Th- Thank you," stammered Mary, blushing as she stuffed the handkerchief away.

Remus smiled at her, then went back to copying a constellation onto his homework.

"Finished!" said James triumphantly, ten minutes later, throwing down his quill. He sighed at his fully-completed star chart, full of bliss at the thought that he had some free time.

"Oh, good," said Marlene, who hadn't even filled in half of hers. "You can help me with mine. None of this makes sense to me."

"It's easy," said Sirius. He, like James, had almost finished. "Just put the names of people in my family on the diagram. All the Blacks are named after stars," he added, in response to Peter's questioning look.

"Oh," said Peter sheepishly. "Right. I didn't know."

"It's okay," said Sirius cheerfully. "I wasn't expecting you to make the connection. There's Orion - that's my father - and Regulus, who's my brother... Then there's Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda-"

"Andromeda's a galaxy," said Remus, filling in the final star on his chart, "not a star."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I know that," he said. "But it looks like a star from far away. Anyway, blame my aunt and uncle, not me. _I_ wasn't the one who chose the names."

"Sorry," said Remus hastily. "Go on. Who else is there?"

"Well, I'm Sirius, the brightest star in the sky-"

James snorted violently and stuffed his fist in his mouth.

Sirius glared at him. "What? My name's not funny, thank you very much!"

But James shook his head, still laughing. "It is, actually. You're so dramatic, like-" he put on a high-pitched voice and waved his arms around dramatically "- _I'm_ Sirius Black, the brightest _star_ in the _sky_ -"

Sirius hit him on the arm. "Shut it, you. At least my middle name's not Fleamont."

James frowned at him. "How did you know my middle name? Did I tell you? Because I don't remember mentioning it before."

"All the pureblood families know each other," replied Sirius dismissively, leaning on one elbow. "Everyone knows you're James Fleamont Potter, and that your parents are Fleamont and Euphemia. It's just common knowledge. My parents made me and Regulus learn the names of every pureblood family in England."

"What? Even mine?" asked Marlene in disbelief. "What about the Weasleys? Or the Prewetts? Or the MacMillans?"

"I know _most_ of them," said Sirius. He leant back and watched a couple of fourth-years squabbling over something in the corner. "I couldn't be bothered to do it properly, though."

"Why did you have to learn them in the first place?" asked Peter interestedly, still struggling with his star chart.

Sirius shrugged. "I guess it's because of all the formal parties the purebloods have. It makes a good first impression if you know everyone's name."

"I s'pose so," said Peter. He groaned and crossed out one of the stars. "Does anyone know how to spell 'Gemini'? It can't start with a 'J'..."

"It's 'G-E-M-I-N-I'," Remus told him, now getting started on his Potions homework. He glanced over Peter's shoulder. "And you've spelt 'Aeries' wrong too. It's 'A-E-R-I-E-S', not-" But he was interrupted by the loud creak of the portrait hole opening. Lily Evans had just come into the common room.

James immediately sat up straighter. "Hi, Evans!"

"Get lost, Potter," Lily snapped, marching past him and settling as far away as possible.

James sighed. "Why doesn't she like me? I haven't done anything to Snivellus today."

Remus smiled over his copy of 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'. "I don't think you made a great first impression, James," he said dryly. "Maybe, if you hadn't gone near Severus at all-"

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" snapped James. "Just let the stupid git act like a jerk?"

"Yes," said Remus, turning his attention back to the book. "I think that's what Lily would've-"

"Do you like her, then?" asked Marlene, cutting across Remus to address James. "Lily, I mean."

James went pink and stared at his hands.

Sirius smirked. "He's smitten," he said smugly. "Absolutely smitten."

"I'm not," muttered James and Sirius laughed.

"Tell that to your face. You match Lily's hair!"

James went even redder and said nothing. True, he liked Lily more than any other girl he'd come across, but he wasn't going to let the others have the satisfaction of teasing him. And he didn't want the whole school spreading rumours about his business.

"So," said Marlene after a pause. "How're we going to get Lily to like James back?"

The four boys and Mary stared at her.

"That's impossible," said Sirius. "Evans would never, in her right mind, fall in love with James Potter."

"Ouch, mate!" said James, grinning.

Sirius pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Sorry," he said, with an unapologetic shrug.

But Marlene ignored them both. "Oh, come on! There's got to be a way. Maybe if you did something really impressive-"

"I'm _naturally_ impressive, thanks," said James.

Remus rolled his eyes and James rounded on him.

"I am impressive, actually!"

"Not impressive enough for Lily," Remus reminded him.

James pouted. "She just doesn't know how awesome I am. But she'll come to her senses eventually."

"Yeah," said Peter, giving up on trying to spell 'Aeries' for the seventeenth time. " _Eventually_."

"Who's side are you on?" demanded James, as Peter fought not to laugh.

"He's on my side, of course," said Remus, who was also smiling. "Because he knows that I'm right and that you're wrong. You're not impressive enough for Lily and she doesn't seem to be going to change her mind any time soon."

"Fine!" said James loudly. "Let's vote on it, shall we? Everyone who thinks I'm impressive, put your hand up. And everyone who doesn't can keep their hands down."

Sirius, James and Marlene all raised their hands.

"Hey!" said Remus, with a pointed look at James. "James, you can't vote in this. That wouldn't be fair. We all know you're just going to support yourself."

James put down his hand, looking very sulky.

Sirius glanced around at the voters. "Right, that's two for 'impressive' and two for 'not'," he said, counting. "Hang on, Mary hasn't voted! What do you think, Mary? Is James impressive or isn't he?"

Mary glanced from Sirius and Marlene to Remus and Peter, anxiously rocking back and forth.

"Come on, Mary!" said Marlene. "Please vote! We need you or we won't have a winner. Choose a side."

"Um..." Mary seemed very reluctant to have the final say. "I- I don't think I'm the right person to-"

"Just hurry up!" growled Sirius, beginning to get impatient. "Of course you're the right person. We haven't got all day!"

Mary blinked back tears and Remus threw Sirius a reproachful look.

"It's okay, Mary. Just ignore Sirius. He's being an idiot."

Sirius glared at Remus. "Oi!"

"Well, you are," said Remus, as though he was explaining something simple to a very emotional toddler. "Leave Mary alone."

"Oh, all right. I'm sorry, Mary. I won't do it again." He turned back to Remus. "Happy?"

"Simply spiffing," replied Remus smugly.

"Good. So, Mary. Who're you voting for?"

"Um..." said Mary, once more hesitating.

Remus bent over Peter to whisper something in her ear and she smiled, two dimples appearing in her cheeks. Then she nodded and sat motionlessly.

"Have you made a decision, Mary?" Remus asked politely, while James and Sirius glared at him.

To everyone's surprise, Mary nodded.

"Oh, Good," said James. "Now, let's do the vote again. On the count of three: One, two, three!"

Marlene and Sirius raised their hands. Peter, Remus and Mary kept theirs down.

"Er, why hasn't Mary voted?" asked James, looking at the girl blankly.

Remus smiled. "She has, actually."

"What do you-?" James began, before comprehension finally dawned. "Oh! Wait, she voted _against_ me?"

Mary nodded timidly. James and Sirius looked outraged.

"No way!" cried Sirius, while Marlene began to laugh. "No way! I bet that's why you were whispering in her ear, isn't it, Remus? You told her to take your side!"

"He didn't tell me," said Mary unexpectedly, her voice innocent. "He just made a suggestion. It was my own idea, really. James _isn't_ impressive enough for Lily."

"He can't be," agreed Peter, nodding. "Or Lily would already like him, wouldn't she?"

"Well said, Peter," said Remus. "Well said. Anyway, now that we've done the vote, how are we going to get Lily to return James' feelings?"

Everyone exchanged stumped glances. This was a hurdle that seemed impossible to jump.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I got the idea for this chapter a while ago when I was re-reading 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' (again!). Professor McGonagall makes a joke during Christmas dinner and I thought 'what if there was a mad axeman that lurked in the Entrance Hall?' Enchanting a suit of armour seemed like the sort of thing the Marauders would do.**

**Thank you for reading!**


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